Waste and Recycling

The University is committed to developing sustainable waste management practices and upholding the principles of reduce, re-use, and recycle across the organisation.

We aim to recycle 45% of the waste produced through campus operations by 2025 and to divert 100% of waste (including general, clinical, and offensive waste) from landfill disposal by including this requirement in any new waste contracts from 2024 onwards.

Our current waste contract is with Veolia ES (UK) Ltd and is run in conjuction with the University of Salford and the Royal Northern College of Music. The contract covers the collection of general (residual) waste plus some recyclates.

The contract ensures that as much waste as possible is diverted from landfill and that no waste at all is sent direct to landfill. Veolia achieve this by taking all non-recyclable (residual*) waste to their Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Trafford Park where it is shredded before it is transferred to a facility in FerryBridge in West Yorkshire run by Enfinium where it is used as a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). See here for more details.

A local company, Elsa Recycling, collect the majority of the University's waste office paper and cardboard on the main campus.

In addition, we collect and recycle numerous waste streams across the campus using our own staff - see our series of short videos which illustrate how we recycle various waste streams.

The larger recycling points across campus can be found here.

Our most recent waste statistics (2023/4) for operations on campus** are:

  • Total waste produced: 1,942 tonnes
  • Total waste recycled***: 747 tonnes (38.5%)
  • % of waste diverted from landfill = 98.15%

Recycling rates (as a % of total waste produced) were as follows:

  • cardboard = 5.5%
  • concrete = 0.16%
  • Dry Mixed Recyclates = 2.84%
  • Food waste = 1.98%
  • Green/landscape waste = 7.13%
  • Glass = 1.05%
  • Scrap metal = 0.68%
  • Paper = 4.43%
  • Plastics**** = 1.97%
  • WEEE***** = 6.69%
  • Furniture = 4.55%
  • Wood = 1.54%

* this being the waste that is left after various recyclates have been collected at source.

** these figures do not include any construction waste or waste from Residences

*** this includes green waste which is composted, food waste which is sent to anaerobic digestion, and furniture that is re-used via the University's Furniture Store.

**** this includes polystyrene

***** this includes batteries, toner cartridges and fluorescent tubes