̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Waste

Sowing seeds for sustainability

plc32 — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 11:06:44 +0000

Finding homes for used toasters, recycling batteries and inspiring a fondness for secondhand fashion are just three of the sustainability challenges Cambridge students addressed in the 2024 Easter term edition of the Engage for Change project.

Plastic Fantastic Cambridge

plc32 — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:48:55 +0000

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Association Football Club (CUAFC) will wear a design that copies the match kit from their 1905 Varsity fixture with Oxford for this year's 150th Anniversary Varsity match. But the shirts, socks and shorts for the 39th Women’s Varsity Match and the 139th Men’s Varsity Match in Cambridge on Friday 15th March are a modern marvel of recycling innovation.

Cambridge introduces precision technology approach to recycling in first for UK Higher Education

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 09:23:52 +0000

̽��ֱ��pioneering recycling system – the first of its kind in the UK Higher Education sector - lessens confusion and increases efficiency by offering only two bins for users to choose from. One bin will be for food waste and the other will be for dry mixed waste, labelled ‘resource recovery’. There will no longer be general waste bins.

Waste will be cleanly sorted into recyclables after it is collected, to reduce confusion and unintentional contamination of materials. Food waste will be converted into energy at an anaerobic digestion facility, and the dry mixed waste will be separated into recyclables at a pioneering Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that can identify and sort recyclables with advanced precision. ̽��ֱ��MRF uses 22 miles of conveyor belts and sorting technology including 2D and 3D scanners, and near infra-red separators.

̽��ֱ��process, which launches in July, aims to increase the ̽��ֱ��’s recycling rates from the current average rate of 54% to an average of 80%.

All of the ̽��ֱ��’s dry mixed waste collections will be made by electric zero carbon tailpipe emission vehicles. In another UK-first, the ̽��ֱ��’s stock of new wheelie bins are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic collected from the local area. These bins can be recycled a further 10 times.

Steve Matthews, Facilities Management Operations Manager, said: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is committed to exceptional environmental performance. ̽��ֱ��new system will allow us to recycle far more materials than before which will make a positive contribution to protecting the environment.”

Abigail Johnson, Director of Mountain Recycling, the waste recycling company the ̽��ֱ�� is working with, said: “As a team we’re extremely proud to have been selected as a supplier to the ̽��ֱ��. Mountain Recycling’s innovative sorting technology is a win-win, providing an easy way for bin users to recycle, and an improvement in the amount of resources that can be recycled.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge aims to increase waste recycling from around 50% to 80% by reducing the number of different bins used by staff and students and introducing an innovative waste recovery service that sorts recyclables with precision technology, including 3D scanners.

̽��ֱ��new system will allow us to recycle far more materials than before which will make a positive contribution to protecting the environment.

Steve Matthews, Facilities Management Operations Manager

Mountain Recycling's materials recovery facility

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Plastic: the new fantastic?

lw355 — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 09:30:20 +0000

Plastic has become a malevolent symbol of our wasteful society. It’s also cheap, durable, flexible, waterproof, versatile, lightweight, protective and hygienic.

During the coronavirus pandemic, plastic visors, goggles, gloves and aprons have been fundamental for protecting healthcare workers from the virus. But what about the effects on the environment of throwing away huge numbers of single-use medical protection equipment? How are we to balance our need for plastic with protecting the environment?

Released on 5 June 2020, World Environment Day, this new film considers how society might ‘reset the clock’ when it comes to living better with a vital material. We hear how Cambridge ̽��ֱ��'s Cambridge Creative Circular Plastics Centre (CirPlas) aims to eliminate plastic waste by combining blue-sky thinking with practical measures – from turning waste plastic into hydrogen fuel, to manufacturing more sustainable materials, to driving innovations in plastic recycling in a circular economy.

“Plastic is an example of how we must find ways to use resources without irreversibly changing the planet for future generations,” adds Professor Erwin Reisner, who leads CirPlas, which is funded by UK Research and Innovation.

Explore more:

Find further information on CirPlas

Plastic: the new fantastic?

Taylor Uekert studies the transformation of plastic waste into hydrogen fuel

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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̽��ֱ��"stop doing stupid stuff" approach to sustainable manufacturing

lw355 — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 15:00:32 +0000

Around 90% of the resources we process to create goods are not reaching the person for whom they are made. How can we make manufacturing more sustainable?

̽��ֱ��'P' word

lw355 — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

How do we shift our 'take, make, throw-away' plastic world towards 'recycle, recover, re-use'? It's time for blue-sky thinking plus practical measures in the battle to reduce plastic waste.

̽��ֱ��£2 billion vegetable and the agricultural future of the East

lw355 — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 11:00:01 +0000

From crop science to robotics, supply chains to economics, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� researchers are working with farmers and industry to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and profitability.

Environmental report highlights Cambridge’s progress towards sustainability goals

cjb250 — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 08:17:56 +0000

In the foreword to the report, Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope writes: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge leads the world in many fields of academic endeavour, including making essential contributions to the global journey toward a more sustainable future. In the course of carrying out our research, we should not lose sight of the fact that how we carry out our research, and all of the work that supports it, also has an environmental impact.

“Through our 2015 vision, policy and strategy, we made a commitment to achieve outstanding environmental performance and we are seeing the positive impact of our efforts in some areas; however, we also recognise that we must do more to achieve our aspirations on a range of fronts.”

̽��ֱ��report aims to be transparent regarding our progress and recognises that we need to do more. It emphasises the role that every member of the ̽��ֱ�� has in helping the institution achieve its sustainability goals.

Among some of the highlights in this year’s report are:

Transport

̽��ֱ��performance of the Universal bus, which operates from Madingley Park & Ride to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus via the railway station, has significantly exceeded expectations: the number of ̽��ֱ�� passengers are up by 73%, and user satisfaction has increased to 85%. However, the percentage of staff using sustainable modes of transport to commute to work slipped just below our 75% target this year.

Energy and Carbon

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� spent £2.9 million on energy efficiency projects last year, the highest amount so far, and its direct carbon emissions fell for the third year running. However, its indirect emissions (from sources such as air travel) increased.

Waste

Despite its overall waste volumes increasing significantly due to several large construction projects, the ̽��ֱ��’s ‘zero waste to landfill’ contract has seen the environmental impact of its waste considerably reduced. It has also seen the rates of recycling for construction projects steadily fall over recent years.

“Virtually every aspect of activity across the ̽��ֱ�� has some environmental sustainability impact,” says Kevin Couling, Interim Head of Environment and Energy. “Every individual working or studying at the ̽��ֱ�� has a role to play in taking action to reduce their environmental impact. Cambridge is strongest when we work together. This is why we are encouraging everyone to take part in the Cambridge Green Challenge.”

̽��ֱ��2016 report, produced by the Environment and Energy team at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, won a Green Gown award for Sustainability Reporting, with clear reporting of key performance indicators and progress against targets.

Environmental Sustainability Report 2017

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� has published its Environmental Sustainability Report 2017, setting out its progress over the past 12 months, including key achievements and where there is room for improvement.

Every individual working or studying at the ̽��ֱ�� has a role to play in taking action to reduce their environmental impact. Cambridge is strongest when we work together

Kevin Couling

Sir Cam

Cambridge in Autumn: Bicycles at Trinity College

A bold response to the world’s greatest challenge

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is building on its existing research and launching an ambitious new climate change initiative. Cambridge Zero is not just about developing greener technologies. It will harness the full power of the ̽��ֱ��’s research and policy expertise, developing solutions that work for our lives, our society and our economy.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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