Green Gown Awards 2016 – Facilities and Services – Kingston University– Finalist

KU reuse revolution

Kingston University has increased reuse from 0% to 5% since 2014, whilst also increasing recycling rates by around 10%. This has been achieved through a combination of projects known as the ‘Reuse Revolution’. 

An exciting collaboration between the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture and the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing sees art students melting down and reusing aluminium previously used in science experiments. Dedicated reuse areas in workshops encourage students to reuse wood, foam and scrap sheet materials, and a formal partnership has been established to donate used furniture to local good causes. Projects also include a successful end of term Halls reuse scheme, textile bins, WARPit – an online portal for internal reuse by staff, and food sharing through the mobile phone app Olio.

Since 2014, the University has avoided the disposal of around 70 tonnes of waste, saving in excess of £50,000 disposal costs.

Top 3 learnings

1 One faculty’s trash really is another faculty’s treasure!

2  Putting in place systems to measure re-use (e.g. tonnage, carbon savings, and disposal costs) can be challenging, but is essential to allow for monitoring and to spot new opportunities

3  A cross cutting initiative with an overarching theme allows directorates and faculties the flexibility to be creative and establish projects in a way that is appropriate to them., whilst also providing the sense of being part of something at an institutional level that is bigger than the sum of its parts

CO2t Savings: 44      
Actual/Estimated: Estimated
No. of yrs: 2 yrs

Videos

• KU reuse revolution (click to hide)