Recycling – soccer rules
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In
what is traditionally one of the most paper driven industries, UniSA has
achieved a recycling milestone in 2005 by reducing its waste to landfill
to less than 80 tonnes – a 30 per cent reduction over five years.
In 2004 under desk paper boxes and recycling bins were introduced to most areas of the University, allowing material such as glossy magazines, newspapers and photocopy wrappers to be recycled.
UniSA Director of Services, Neville Thiele, says it’s all part of a greater push for sustainability, which has also included reducing water and electricity use across all campuses.
And while the results look good, there is still room to improve, especially in adopting the right recycling habits. With support from the Pro Vice Chancellor of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Michael Rowan, Magill has been the trial campus for a red and yellow card warning system.
If cleaning staff found a waste bin containing paper that should have been in the recycle box, they did not empty it. Instead they left a yellow card on the person’s desk explaining the correct recycling practices. If the paper was not placed in the recycle box within five days, a red card was left clearly stating that the bin wouldn’t be emptied until the paper was removed.
The success of the Magill trial will see an extension of the warning card system to other campuses to monitor contamination of recycling bins with food scraps or other waste. To find out more about UniSA’s drive for sustainability go to www.unisa.edu.au/services/current/environment