Waste

Minimising waste to landfill is something that everyone on campus can actively support.

Minimising waste

To improve the environment, we need to start taking responsibility for the waste we produce by finding more effective and efficient ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and reprocess the material we consume at the University, that ultimately contributes to a circular economy.

Reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill is a key priority for the University. For several years a recycling system has been in operation for cardboard, paper, glass, plastics and tins. However, there is still more that can be done. The University aims to reduce the volume of waste wherever possible, maximise the re-use of products and create a more effective recycling system.

Projects

We have been working to minimise waste by:

  • moving to more paperless processes,
  • introducing hand driers in bathrooms,
  • promoting water fountains over bottled water, and
  • working with our retailers on packaging alternatives.

We re-use significant volumes of furniture and IT equipment and collect organic waste from staff areas for our worm farms.

Recycling Stations

Our first trial Recycling Wall is on the Kelburn Campus opposite Louis’ Café in The Hub by the VUWSA noticeboards. There are smaller Recycling Stations in the Te Aro Architecture and Design Library and the Commerce Library in Rutherford House. The items you can recycle change from time to time depending on what recycling schemes we can join and what items are popular.

Find out more about the Recycling Wall

Soft plastic recycling

There is a soft plastic recycling scheme that runs nationally throughout New Zealand. It is a Government accredited voluntary product stewardship programme; run by The Packaging Forum.  There are collection points throughout New Zealand, including several in Wellington.

The University (alongside many other schools and tertiary education providers) has expressed interest in joining the scheme however at present the collection points are only available in supermarkets and retailers. They are working to expand to other locations and we have expressed interest in participating when possible.

Campus worm farms

The University currently has 16 worm farms at the Kelburn Campus and one at the Pipitea Campus. The worms process food scraps from staff kitchens. The farms are managed by our grounds maintenance team, Bark, who in turn use the worm castings on campus gardens. The worm farms can be found at:

  • The Te Toki a Rata Dockway
  • Behind Rankine Brown Library
  • In the Motorcycle Park behind the Old Government Building

Find out more about worm farms.

What can you do?

  • Purchase fewer consumable items,
  • avoid products with a lot of packaging,
  • get your take away coffee in a re-usable cup, most of the cafes on campus offer a discount for it,
  • don’t print, or if you do format it to reduce wasted space,
  • take advantage of the free food at VUWSA from Kaibosh,
  • buy second hand items like textbooks or products with recycled content, and
  • use the recycling and organic waste bins around campus.