Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Recycling and Reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
What Waste does UNSW produce?
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Paper and cardboard: office paper, newspapers & light cardboard.
Recyclable hazardous waste: batteries, mobile phones and fluro’s.
E-waste (electronic waste): computers, printers, keyboards, cables.
Construction and demolition waste: plaster, steel, rubble etc.
Green waste: tree pruning's and garden waste.
Other hazardous waste: chemical & bio-waste produced from faculties.
Compostable waste: food scraps, cooking oil.
Co-mingled recyclables: plastic, glass, aluminium.
General waste: things that can’t be readily recycled.
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Paper and Cardboard
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Blue Bins for paper recycling generally placed in corridors or next to photocopiers.
UNSW staff can get small paper recycling boxes for under desks or near photocopiers.
UNSW staff responsible for emptying paper and cardboard into blue wheelie bins.
Amcor collect 800 tonne a year and pay approx $40,000 for paper collected from UNSW.
Students can recycle using blue bins located in Library, ARC & other public access areas.
It’s a staff responsibility to
empty paper into blue bins
Bins available from stationary re-use centre, ARC,
FM Assist, room 224A Chancellery or on request.
Email recycling@unsw.edu.au
Recycled at Villawood
Blue wheelie bins for paper and cardboard
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Reverse Vending Machines
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Reverse Vending Machines to be placed in:
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The Roundhouse
The Kensington Colleges
Food Fair (Upper Campus Food Court)
Eora Lounge
UNSW Climate Change Adaptation Centre.
Accept empty drink containers.
Eliminate contamination. Material 100% recyclable.
Reduces cleaning costs:
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An average wheelie bin holds between 100 & 150 containers.
Reverse Vending Machines hold 3,000 containers = 25 wheelie bins.
Give users vouchers & prizes as incentives to recycle.
UNSW machines will look like this
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Batteries and Mobile Phones
Batteries and mobile phones
> Batteries contain toxic heavy metals and are expensive to recycle.
> Battery collection available. Collected & recycled by Battery World at expense to UNSW.
> Approximately 800 mobile phones collected at UNSW each year.
> Phones recycled by Mobile Muster for free.
Where bins can be found?
> Upper Campus
FM Assist
Matthews Building
> Lower Campus
ARC Reception
Battery & mobile phone collection
FM Assist, Matthews Building.
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Printer Toner Cartridges
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Cara Toner: Over 5,788 empties collected for reuse since the UNSW service began.
46% of cartridges collected from UNSW by Cara Toner are reused.
Planet Ark: Sent to Close the Loop in Melbourne where some are remanufactured and
the remainder of plastic and metal is recycled.
Successful, informal, staff volunteer initiative.
Cara toner
Cara Toner cartridge bin
Chancellery Building
Planet Ark cartridge bin
Faculty of Science
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Fluorescent Tubes and light globes
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Collected on request via FM Assist (Ex: 55111).
Stored in the Spotless compound on Western Campus
Recycling and disposal by Chemsal.
Fluorescent tubes contain enough mercury to pollute 30,000 litres of water beyond
safe drinking level.
Chemsal collect fluorescent, CFL, incandescent, halogen, High Intensity Discharge
lamps (HIDs) discharge light bulbs/lamps including associated ballasts and
transformers.
Fluro lights stored at
Spotless compound on
Western Campus.
Periodic collection by
Chemsal.
Florescent lights contain mercury
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
e-waste
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E-waste recycling available but not well utilised.
On request e-waste is collected by FM and stored at the Randwick Tramshed.
From Tramshed collected by contractor. Taken to SIMS Villawood for $1,200 per tonne.
SIMS recycled approximately 40 tonne of e-waste from UNSW in the past 12 months.
Disposal cost to UNSW approximately $30,000 per annum.
Some UNSW e-waste stored in offices & eventually irresponsibly disposed in landfill.
SIMS Villawood facility has excellent recovery
rates and is under capacity.
E-waste stored at Randwick Tramshed
UNSW Bins filled with e-waste & stationary that
could be sent to stationary re-use centre.
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Stationary and Furniture reuse
Stationary
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UNSW Stationary Re-use Centre.
Operated by ARC volunteers.
Stationary donated by UNSW
staff and corporations.
Second hand folders & stationary
free for students & staff.
Student Volunteer intern at ARC Stationary
Successful student initiative.
Re-use Centre – Level 2 of Quad East Wing.
Furniture
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UNSW staff can give and take second hand furniture from
the UNSW Furniture Re-use Centre. Managed by FM.
Furniture stored offsite, with external storage provider.
Staff can order or donate furniture via
www.anstorage.com.au/unsw/unswlogin.asp
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
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Food Waste and Green Waste
UNSW Grounds and Gardens waste
> Green waste generated from UNSW lawns, garden beds,
landscaping and other vegetation used for mulch through a contract
managed by UNSW Facilities Management Grounds.
> Pruned tree branches and other green waste processed on site &
used on UNSW garden beds.
Cooking Oil converted to biodiesel
> Up to 800 litres a week collected from campus outlets for free.
> Cooking oil would otherwise be wasted converted to biodiesel.
Food Waste
> Food waste not separately composted.
> The TKC caterer, Spotless, has offered on-site bio waste processing.
UNSW cooking oil
converted into bio-diesel.
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Biological & Hazardous Waste
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Hazardous waste generated from research activity is managed by OHS unit within HR.
Specialist contractors are engaged by the University to responsibly dispose of biological and
hazardous chemical waste. Weekly collections from labs & other waste generators on request.
Chemsal: Dangerous waste including organic solvents, oxidise, pesticides and “ionising radiation
emitting materials not considered to be radioactive” (colloquially known as low level radioactive
waste, ie. less than 100 Becquerel per gram.)
Sterihealth: Dispose of biological, clinical waste, ionising radiation emitting materials not
considered to be radioactive, human tissue, biological chemicals and other toxic substances.
Biowaste that includes ionising radiation emitting material, subject to checks to ensure radiation
sufficiently decayed to be “non- radioactive”.
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
Construction and Demolition
Waste management conditions imposed under contract
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Capital works management of construction and demolition include
criteria such as:
> On-site separation of waste for re-use or recycling;
> Development of a Construction Site Waste Management Plan.
Waste management conditions made available for Consultants and
Contractors undertaking projects for UNSW.
Construction and demolition waste includes:
> Plaster board
> Concrete
> Bricks
> Steel
> Cables
> Packaging.
Construction site for the
Solar Industrial Research Facility.
Construction and demolition waste.
Source: Google images
Recycling and reuse at UNSW
Live, learn and work sustainably
General Waste System
Office bins
> Used in University offices emptied by cleaners on a daily basis.
> Intended for non-recyclable waste. Waste goes to landfill.
Public Place Bins
> There is no public place recycling at UNSW at present.
> All waste collected in public place bins go to landfill.
UNSW’s Contract Cleaners
Standard office bin
1,000 litre bin Botany St
car park waste shed - H22A.
UNSW public place bins