New UCL waste contractor appointed to support ambitious sustainability goals

Closing the loop on waste at UCL

The Loop is one of the core pillars of UCL’s Sustainability Plan, focusing on responsible consumption and sustainable approaches to waste management and recycling. It plays a key role in reducing UCL’s environmental impact and supporting the university’s long-term commitment to a more sustainable future.

To support UCL’s ambitious targets UCL’s facilities management partner Sodexo, has appointed a new waste contractor, Recorra, to service the Bloomsbury Campus.

A new waste contractor for Bloomsbury

Recorra is a leading local, award-winning UK waste management company specialising in high-quality recycling, sustainability and low-carbon services. From mid-March 2026, Recorra will take over waste collection services from our current contractor, Suez. This will include collections for general waste, recycling, food waste, electrical waste and bulky waste. All waste will continue to be processed within the UK and EU.

Recorra will help UCL achieve its ambitious waste targets to achieve a 10% reduction in waste per person and an 85% recycling rate. They will do this by analysing what wastes we have on site and establish what wastes can be recycled or reused.

Recorra can recycle 38 different materials which will help UCL’s recycling streams can expand in the future to remove waste from the general waste stream making UCL a greener place to work and study.

Getting involved in waste reduction

As well as impressive infrastructure changes and comprehensive recycling guidance, UCL works hard to provide staff and students with the opportunity to engage in waste reduction activities. This includes:

• UCL's end-of-year reuse scheme, which provides students with an avenue to donate items to be used by future UCL students.
• The Waste Race, a scheme developed to drive up the recycling rate in UCL accommodations.
• Tech for Treasure, a collaborative scheme with UCL alumni to raise awareness of the rare and useful material in your electronics.

To support The Loop, get involved with one of the initiatives or start your own. Small actions make big changes.