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Lancaster University's Waste & Recycling Strategy was adopted in 2011. The projects and actions implemented as elements of the Waste Strategy have resulted in significant improvements in recycling rates and major reductions in carbon emissions associated with recycling and waste disposal.
We work closely with Lancaster City Council and Cumbria Waste to ensure the minimum amount of waste goes to landfill, and the maximum amount is recycled or reused. All waste collections on campus are done using electric trucks to reduce carbon emissions.
All student residences have three stream kitchen recycle bins installed. The bins can take newspaper, magazines & cards, mixed glass and plastic bottles and metal cans. Internal segregated recycling bins have also been installed in office, administration and teaching areas across the campus.
Recycling campus map
Cardboard, paper, newspapers, magazines and books can be recycled via the cardboard and paper recycling bins in each Bin Store on campus, or in the recycling bins that are in office, administration and teaching areas across the campus.
Plastic bottles, cans, empty food pots, milk containers and water bottles can be recycled via the plastic and metal cans recycling bins in each Bin Store on campus, or in the recycling bins that are in office, administration and teaching areas across the campus.
Mixed glass recycling bins are provided at each Bin Store on campus. Please do not dispose of specialist glass items such as laboratory equipment and light bulbs. Collections can be arranged for these items using the Facilities Helpdesk.
Tetra Pak are a major user of paperboard, which required a labour-intensive recycling process to separate recyclable materials from non-recyclable elements of the packaging. Because of this, Tetra Pak cartons are collected separately. At the moment, the University provides dedicated recycling bins to commercial tenants and the hospitality team and we are planning to roll this out to staff and students soon.
Household batteries can be disposed of via any one of the Porters Lodges on campus. There are also a number of battery boxes located around campus that are collected regularly. If you need to dispose of larger, wet cell batteries, you can do this via the Facilities Helpdesk.
There are numerous clothing banks located around campus. Please use these to donate unwanted clothing and textiles, including shoes, to charity. Where there are separate shoe banks, please use these for footwear only.
If the clothes banks are full, please do not leave bags on the floor. Instead, please find an alternative donation point using MazeMap.
We work closely with Lancaster City Council and Cumbria Waste to ensure the minimum amount of waste goes to landfill, and the maximum amount is recycled or reused. The video shows what happens to your items when you recycle on campus.
Every year the Don’t Ditch It project collects more than 20 tonnes of unwanted items from students across campus and diverts them from landfill to be repurposed and resold in our ECOShop. Hosted by Green Lancaster and run by students, the shop sells a wide range of repurposed donations from the Don’t Ditch It project, including books, electrical items and bedding that were donated to be reused by others.
Don’t Ditch It