Binless Office Trial
Frequently Asked Questions
The Binless Office trial commenced this month, with many eco-bins delivered, posters displayed and bins
removed. The following FAQ was put together based on questions and concerns raised this week. Please
contact Samantha Newton, Sustainability Officer, on ext 8170 or by email if you have any other questions
or comments.
What is the Binless Office Trial?
The aim of this campaign is to improve environmental sustainability at Macquarie University by
encouraging staff to be more conscious about how they dispose of their office waste. This will be
achieved by removing full-size bins under desks and replacing them with desktop mini-bins, which staff
will be responsible for emptying into an office common bin.
Purpose:
1. Reduce waste of having plastic lined bins being emptied daily
2. Improve diversion of paper and food waste to alternative disposal
3. Improve health and wellbeing by encouraging staff to move around during the day to empty
desktop bins
What’s this poster on my door?
Posters have been placed on the doors of all trial participants. Participants include academic, technical,
administration, postdoctoral research staff and some HDR spaces within Biological Sciences. The trial does
not include staff of CBMS, and does not include lab spaces. The posters help the cleaners know which
offices are part of the trial.
Will the cleaners ever clean my office again?
Yes, with fewer bins to empty, cleaners will now have more time to clean floors and bathrooms. If you
have any cleaning issues, email Samantha Newton and Marita Holley. For urgent cleaning issues, submit a
service request to Property https://ofm.mq.edu.au/service_request.html
What are the environmental benefits?
Individual under-desk bins are emptied daily, with bin liners replaced weekly, or more often if needed. By
removing bins from under desks, we are reducing the number of bin liners going to landfill by an
estimated 10,000 per year.
Where do I put my waste?
There are communal general waste bins in each of the tearooms and some common areas. Your general
waste goes straight into these. If you have one of the small desk-top eco-bins then it is your responsibility
to empty it into the communal rubbish bins each day. These communal waste bins will be emptied as
normal and taken to Doyle Bros waste facility where any recyclable material will be separated for
recycling.
What if my eco-bin gets dirty?
The eco-bins are made from corflute and can be rinsed out as needed.
How do get an eco-bin?
More eco-bins are on the way. If you missed out and would like on your desk, please email Samantha
Newton.
What about paper?
There are blue wheelie bins near copiers and in other areas for paper recycling. Many people have paper
recycling boxes in their office for day to day collection of paper. These should be emptied by you once
full, into the blue wheelie bin. If you need a paper recycling bin contact Samantha Newton.
Do we have a compost or worm farm?
Biology has two worm farms. There are containers in the fridge in E8A 280 and E8B 215 for worm food.
Fruit and veg scraps can go here. Worms don’t like citrus or onion and garlic, or dairy or meat products.
But they love banana peel, coffee grounds, tea bags and fruit cores. If you would like a container for
worm food in your kitchen area, or would like to discuss composting or worm farms contact Samantha
Newton.