Put regular bins next to recycling bins in the library
Anonymous submitted on
Sunday 5th May 2019
Complete
I understand the idea is to encourage people to recycle but the lack of general waste bins in the library actually reduces recycling as the bins become contaminated with general waste and food. Please fix this!
Responses
Here, you can view the complete set of official responses from the sabbatical officers regarding this submission.
Students' Union replied on
Thursday 27th Feb 2020 12:24pm
Hi there,
I come back to you with an update!
The University operates a two-bin recycling system in our office, catering and teaching/learning spaces - one bin for food waste, and one bin for virtually everything else.
The mixed waste is sorted off-site at a materials recycling facility. Any waste that can’t be recycled is sent to an energy from waste facility so that energy and heat can be recovered. Food waste is sent for anaerobic digestion, which breaks down biodegradable materials using micro-organisms, producing gas that can be used to generate electricity and heat.
While this approach generally works, we have had some problems in some locations (mainly catering outlets) with liquid contamination in the mixed recycling bins. A three-bin system (Recyclables, Food and General Waste) was trialled at Winchester and in the Hartley Library to see if a reduction in contamination could achieved. In Winchester, the trial did not prove itself to be better (or worse) than the two-bin system at reducing contamination and the trial of the bin placement in the library has yet to be concluded.
Information about the University’s recycling system is published in the Welcome packs issued to newly arriving students at our Halls of Residence each year and further details can be found here https://www.southampton.ac.uk/estates/what-we-do/waste-and-recycling.page
I hope this helps to answer your query but if you would like to discuss this further please feel free to get in touch with me via president@soton.ac.uk
Kind regards,
Emily Harrison,
SUSU President, 2019-20
Students' Union replied on
Friday 25th Oct 2019 2:58pm
Hi there,
Thank you for your You Make Change submission.
Apologies for the delay, I'm working through a backlog of Sustainability submissions inheritated from the previous VP Welfare.
I have raised this and the other You Make Changes about thesame topic with University Estates and Facilities and come back to you with an update as soon as possible!
Just to make you aware, you can report any facilities related issues to the University E&F team directly (Link here: https://planon.soton.ac.uk/selfservice/) This is probably easier as you will get a more immediate response and helps to keep a track of reoccuring issues so they can allocate resources and identify problems better.
Kind regards,
Emily Harrison,
Union President, 2019/20
Actions
Forwarded to Union President
Friday 10th May 2019 2:41pm
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