The Benefits
The UTS Cleans Up project has many benefits including:
Reducing waste
- Changing from individual under desk bins to central bins in each unit will keep over 10,000 plastic bin liners out of general waste every week and improve recycling rates.
- By collecting our food waste separately we are able to recycle more plastic and metal containers and also reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
Saving Resources
- Changing to central bins reduces cleaning costs (saving almost $300,000 annually) and plastic bag use.
- Having a centralised waste system has been shown to increase paper recycling rates in other leading organisations and universities. Currently over 4.5 tonnes of paper is still being incorrectly placed in the general waste bin each week at UTS. It is really important to place paper in the dedicated blue paper recycling bin. This ensures it can be recycled back into high grade paper, while paper placed in the co-mingled bins gets contaminated and is only recycled into a lower grade product such as tissues. Every tonne of paper recycled saves almost 13 trees.
Encouraging personal responsibility
- Emptying your own waste encourages staff to become more aware of consumption and waste reduction, and it's what we already do at home.
- Emptying your own waste provides a healthy break from the computer screen, the Australian Heart Foundation recommends taking a break from your chair every 30 minutes. It also helps us all be more responsible for own our waste and to make sure that clean paper goes in the blue paper recycling bin, food waste in the green lidded bin and general waste in the red lidded bin.
International best practice
Centralised waste management is fast becoming industry standard with other universities and businesses such as Deakin University, RMIT, Westpac, Telstra, the Hills Shire Council, Warringah Council and Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations with similar waste management programs. The majority of these organisations have reported that changing to a centralised bin system led to an increase in paper recycling and reduction in the amount of waste.
The UTS Cleans Up program was piloted in both the Facilities Management offices on level 19, Building 1 and also in the Chancellery. In the pilot, central bins were placed in kitchens and under-desk garbage bins were removed. A significant reduction in waste was seen even in a short period of time.
Finding ways to reduce the amount of waste produced at UTS is part of UTS’s commitment to be a leading university and a sustainable work place.
