The University is installing over 2,000 recycling bins across our campuses over the coming months to make it easier for colleagues to recycle waste.

The new facilities will replace all existing under-desk and cardboard recycling bins and will help us reduce general waste, improve our recycling, and provide consistent access to internal recycling facilities across all campus buildings, in a bid to lower our carbon footprint.

The move to increase our overall recycling infrastructure forms part of the University’s Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan (2022 - 2027), which aims to promote collective responsibility for the management of waste and to ensure that the waste hierarchy of “reduce, reuse and recycle” is promoted and practised.

Graeme Wallace, Head of Operations in the Facilities Services, said: “The current process of servicing individual bins misses the opportunity to recycle large amounts of waste. The new system, which will see over two thousand new bins installed, is expected to increase our on-site recycling by up to 25%.”

Tom Bryce, Cleaning and Waste Adviser at the University of Glasgow, said: “For a number of years, access to internal recycling has been inconsistent across our campus and standardised recycling facilities were desperately needed. This rollout has been a very welcome development and will enable colleagues to recycle and reduce a significant amount of general waste that is generated.”

The installation will be rolled out in a phased approach over the next six months, and you will shortly be seeing the following type of facilities across our buildings.

  • A small Nexus Stacking System will be used in areas where space is limited.
  • The larger Nexus Duo System will offer 100ltr of split General Waste and Dry Mixed Recycling and will be used in most communal areas and circulation routes.
  • The Nexus 100ltr and 140ltr single stream will be used for larger footfall areas like the James McCune Smith Learning Hub & Library buildings.

Please note that once the installation has been completed in your building, we will stop servicing all individual under-desk bins.

If you have any questions, please direct them to Tom Bryce, Cleaning & Waste Advisor,  tom.bryce@glasgow.ac.uk in the first instance.

First published: 4 November 2022

<< 8 November 2022