FAQs
- I can’t be bothered to recycle, it all goes to landfill anyway.
- Why can’t I recycle plastic?
- Where does University waste go?
- Why do we produce so much paper?
- What are better, paper or plastic bags?
- How much waste does the University produce?
- How much does waste cost the University?
- I don’t have any recycling facilities within my department, and currently take my own waste to a Recycling Centre or Point. Why is this?
- How long will it take for us to receive recycling facilities?
- Why do I have to print this document off, why can’t I do it on line?
- How can I reduce the amount of waste I, or my department produces?
- I have an item to throw away but I am not sure what to do with it.
- Why do the University Halls of residence not receive kerbside collection from the Local Authority?
- I just got a new computer at my desk. What do I do with the old one?
- Can I recycle my batteries on campus?
- We are planning an event on campus. How do we set up recycling for it?
- How do I recycle at my home?
- My office paper recycling bin hasn’t been emptied. What do I do?
- Our department needs to get rid of boxes of “sensitive” documents. How do we make sure these documents are “destroyed?”
- I’m cleaning out my office and have boxes of files and paper to get rid of. How do I recycle them?
- What kinds of paper can go in my office paper recycling bin?
This common perception of recycled material going to landfill is incorrect. Legally, local authorities are obliged to recycle as much domestic waste as possible, and divert material away from landfill. There are significant fiscal penalties in the form of landfill tax, and the landfill allowance trading scheme that encourage recycling over disposal options.
When appointing a waste contractor to collect and dispose of University waste, an agreement is established at the contract stage to ensure waste is disposed of correctly, in accordance with a regulation known as the Duty of Care. It is at this point of agreement that the outlet for the material is decided, whether that is a collection for recycling or disposal. The opportunities to recycle depend on what processing and treatment plants are available locally, and is also dependent on how far the material has to be transported.
Any type of plastic can be recycled, depending on whether there are facilities available locally that can take that material.
Many of the surrounding local authorities collect plastic bottles from the domestic waste stream as part of their recycling collections. Local Authorities are obligated by law to prevent this material from going to landfill, however at present premises classified as commercial, such as the University are not. Due to its lightweight and voluminous nature, plastic is uneconomical to transport long distances for disposal. If facilities are not available locally then it is too expensive to transport this material further a field for processing.
Where possible you would be encouraged to use an alternative to plastic, such as a drinks can instead of a plastic bottle, or reusable mug instead of plastic cup. So that plastic waste, which cannot be recycled, is reduced.
A number of waste contractors come on site and collect different types of waste. At the moment the following is taken from offices and departments:
- Aberdeen City Council takes glass and paper and cardboard for recycling, as well as general refuse. Glass is taken to Alloa to a factory owned by United Glass, and the paper and cardboard is taken to either Stirling Fibres or a paper mill in Shotton.
- Waste cardboard is collected by Shanks for recycling. It is baled and transported down to England for recycling.
- Waste paper is collected from consoles situated across campus by a company called Shred it (North East) Ltd, who shred the paper on site before transferring it to Kimberly Clark where it is manufactured into new paper products.
- A company called Healthcare Environmental Services collects clinical waste from the Old Aberdeen campus. They take the clinical waste to their treatment plant in Shotts, North Lanarkshire, where it is autoclaved and shredded before being sent to Leavenseat landfill in Forth. Clinical waste from Foresterhill is uplifted by NHS Grampian for onward transfer to treatment sites operated by Sterile Technologies.
- Food and drinks cans from Eat at Johnston are collected by a social work initiative called Aye-can who then gain money from Panda Rosa by trading in the cans. Other food and drinks can bins are emptied internally by porters who transfer them to a central skip for collection by Panda Rosa.
As we use computers more and more as part of our daily lives, paper consumption has increased. It is still sometimes easier to print items off then reading the article on screen. Some legislation has also caused increased paper use as some documents need to be retained in hardcopy.
More information can be found in the waste top tips section on ways to reduce your paper use.
When looking at the manufacture of paper and plastic bags both have environmental impacts on the environment. The best option is not to use them at all and take a textile alternative, or other form of container that can be reused over and over again.
At present an exact figure on waste produced is not known, however estimates based on bin uplift frequencies suggests around 1300 tonnes per annum (this figure does not include PC equipment, WEEE and chemical waste that has been disposed of).
In the last financial period, around £240,000 was budgeted for waste disposal by Estates only. This figure does not cover waste costs incurred through Campus Services. These costs are set to increase as landfill tax, waste contractor gate fees and transport costs rise.
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I don’t have any recycling facilities within my department, and currently take my own waste to a Recycling Centre or Point. Why is this?
Internal recycling facilities are being investigated, as illustrated in question nine. Recycling Centres and Points provided by the Local Authority on and off campus are purely for domestic / household waste. Waste produced on site at the University is classified as commercial waste. It is a legal requirement to dispose of commercial waste through an authorised waste contractor to an appropriate treatment facility. This system is know as the Duty of Care, and requires waste transfer notes (or consignment notes if the material is classified as special) to be signed off as part of this process.
If commercial waste is taken to a Recycling Centre and Point, the Duty of Care system is not being followed, as it cannot be certain where that waste will be disposed of. For more information on the Duty of Care see the waste legislation section.
The Estates Section is constantly assessing the market as to whether more locally available outlets are present for recycling of the waste produced at the University. As markets become available provison of further recycling facilities is investigated.
The Environment Office are looking to review many of the Estates internal practices and place a number of forms on line, so that they can be completed electronically.
There are many ways your department can reduce its waste from printing double sided to using a reusable mug. More information can be found in the waste top tips section.
If you are at all unsure of how to dispose of any waste item, then contact the Waste and Environmental Manager. See details within the contact us section.
Hillhead Halls has not received a kerbside collection from the Local Authority as two Recycling Points have been located on site for residents to use. In addtion, many multi-occupancy properties are unsuitable for a kerbside collection of recycling due to lack of storage in the properties and lack of space to present containers for collection. A local Recycling Point is seen as the best solution in this situation. Another Recycling Point is located at the back of Crombie Halls.
The Recycling Points offer bins for paper and cardboard, food and drinks cans, plastic bottles, and the three types of coloured glass, as well as textiles.
Firstly, you must check with DIT whether the University no longer requires this equipment. If the computer is to be disposed of then you need to complete a request form, which then gets passed to Estates for processing. Full details are available at one the Forms page.
There is no provision for recycling of batteries produced from domestic sources.
Batteries produced as part of University operation can be placed in the internal mail to Bedford Road for disposal, alternatively they can be retained and placed on the bi-annual chemical and WEEE collection. Batteries should have their ends taped up during storage, and should be stored per battery type. Further guidance on battery disposal is available from the Waste and Environmental Manager.
All event planning should take account of the environmental impact it may have. This can be calculated by undertaking a risk assessment. You can also seek further guidance from our Guide for Organising Sustainable Events. Click here to find out more.
There are many opportunities for you to recycle at home whether that is on or off campus. For further information look at the Waste Aware website.
Inform the Waste and Environmental Manager of any problems with the recycling bin service.
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Our department needs to get rid of boxes of “sensitive” documents. How do we make sure these documents are “destroyed?”
All confidential paper waste should be placed in the recycling consoles, alongside non-confidential paper. Additional bags for office clearances are available from the Waste and Environmental Manager.
If you expect to produce a large number of paper waste then it is advisable to be in touch so we can arrange a special uplift and advise the contractor. We may also be able to find outlets for unwanted stationary, folders etc. Contact the Waste and Environmental Manager for more information.
You can put magazines, newspapers, brochures, and office paper within your paper recycling bin. It cannot accept post-it notes, paper towels, tissues, or envelopes with the windows remaining in them.
This page was last updated on 16-Nov-2010 17:37:17 GMT