How to set up campus recycling facilities
| 1. Carry out a staff and student consultation |
It’s important to make sure that a wide range of stakeholders are involved in the initial discussions and decisions surrounding the introduction of waste recycling and prevention facilities. A working group should be established to make key decisions and pass on information to representative bodies. Working group members should include; a member of the campus corporate communication team, a senior student representative, the cleaning services manager and, the manager responsible for dealing with the waste service contractor on a day to day basis.
| 2. Search the campus recycling directory |
You can use the
Campus Recycling Directory to search for the recycling and waste prevention services that are available in your area. For more information about searching the directory take a look at the '
How to Search the Campus Recycling Directory' guide.
| 3. Contact the companies that interest you |
Contact companies that you would consider setting up a collection contract with. This will allow you to discuss more details of the service they offer. At this stage you may want to ask for details such as charges and where materials would be collected.
You may also wish to confirm if the company is a registered waste carrier. You can do this by visiting the
SEPA Register of Waste Carriers.
| 4. Sign up to a contract with your selected service provider |
When you have decided which company can best suit your needs, you are ready to sign up to a contract with your selected service provider.
At this point you should arrange definite details of the service, such as the frequency of collection and how you will be charged for the service.
You should also confirm with your service provider if they require your materials to be presented for collection in a specific way or if materials have to be of a certain quality. For example, they may only accept clean, flat packed cardboard, or washed and squashed plastic bottles. You may find that if you contaminate your waste materials then they will be unable to be recycled, due to poor quality.
| 5. Start collecting materials for recycling and promote your service |
It’s really important that the new recycling or waste prevention system is used correctly by staff and students; the most effective way of making sure this happens is to promote the service effectively. The
poster creator tool allows you to create professional, customised posters to publicise your service, the
awareness raising guide provides a communication strategy with lots of ideas to help you publicise your service.
