Waste minimisation
In 2011/2012, the University sent 720 tonnes of waste to landfill. Including weight recycled, however, the University produced a total of 2,488 tonnes of waste in the same time period. Once in a landfill, this waste releases greenhouse gases, such as methane, which contribute to global warming, uses valuable land and can take over one hundred years to break down (depending on the type of waste).
Our aim is to achieve Zero Waste by 2020 (as laid out in our SD Policy & Strategy 2012 - 2022 (PDF, 156 KB))). Recycling is great, but reducing the overall volume of waste producced is one step better. We are the University of St Andrews; we can do one step better. Please become part of our committment to mnimising waste at St Andrews and be smart about your resource use.
Top tips for waste minimisation
1. REUSE, REUSE!
Students: Need something new for your room at the start of term? Doing an annual clear out before summer? Check out the innovative student reuse scheme St AndRe-Use to find free goodies or save your old-but-still-usableitems from going to landfill.
Staff: Check out the staff reuse site WARPit when needing OR getting rid of furniture, equipment or resources.
2. Reuse envelopes and write on the back of scrap paper.
3. Print double-sided wherever possible.
4. Think before you print - could you just read it off the screen?
5. When you are shopping, stop and consider whether or not you actually need an item. Are you likely to get much use out of it? Save money and the environment and try to avoid buying things you won't use.
6. Use a reusable shopping bag (either a cloth bag/rucksack, or a Bag for Life) rather than regular plastic bags. Tescos awards green points to customers who do not take new plastic bags. Keep one stored in your bag or car so you don't have to remember every time you go to the store.
7. Buy products with less packaging. Packaging makes up 24% of household waste and one sixth of money spent on food goes towards packaging!
Fruit and vegetables can often be bought with no packaging at all, like the veg shop Birrell and Son on South Street. Organic vegetable boxes can be bought from a number of suppliers (such as Bellfield Organics and Pillars of Hercules), which produce virtually no packaging waste.
8. Buy reusable products rather than disposable ones (e.g. reusable razors, rechargable batteries).
9. Buy a reusable University branded KeepCup from any University catering location and save money on every hot drink in the future AND eliminate disposable cup waste.
Drink tap water rather than buying bottled water. The water in St Andrews is very fresh and clean because of our location. Not only does this reduce the number of plastic bottles discarded, it reduces the transport miles associated with the water, and saves you money at the same time!
10. Before you throw something away, stop and think. Is it still in good condition? Could it be reused by someone else? If none of your friends want it, give it to St AndRe-Use (students and staff for personal items) or WARPit (staff for work purposes).
For more tips on how to live sustainably, check out the Little Green Guide (PDF, 84,415 KB).
If you have any novels ideas on how to reduce waste, we'd love to hear about it. Email us: environment@st-andrews.ac.uk.