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Sustainable UCL

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Waste and Recycling

Ensuring our waste stays 'In the Loop' is an essential part of creating a more sustainable UCL.

Waste and recycling commitments 

UCL has committed to reducing waste per person by 20% and to recycle 85% of its waste by 2024. We are commited to reducing, reusing, repairing and sharing, eliminating single use items and maximising the value from our waste products. 

> This initiative is part of the The Loop campaign.

What is UCL doing? 

  • We recycle 56% of our waste and send zero waste to landfill. Everything we don't recycle, is recovered for energy.
  • Our food waste goes to anaerobic digestion to be turned into energy and our coffee beans fuel London buses!
  • All our waste is processed in the UK.
  • We encourge reuse through sharing platforms such as Warpit, our monthly clothes swaps.
  • Our coffee cup charge has saved 250,000 cups since its launch in 2019.
  • UCL is reducing waste through working with suppliers.

> Review UCL's Waste Strategy (PDF). 

 

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Sustainable waste initiatives 

UCL's Plastic Waste Innovation Hub 

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The hub is a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including scientists, engineers, designers, and social scientists, taking a design-led approach to the issue of plastic waste.

> Visit the Plastic Waste Innovation Hub.

Help Reduce UCL's Waste

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Join our Student and Sustainability Engagement programmes to help reduce waste in your department.

> Visit our Take Action page.

> Share our Bin Sinage, Posters and Social Media assets.