Waste and Recycling

The University’s Waste and Resource Use Strategy, spanning 2021 to 2030, is focused on responsible resource use and sustainable waste management. We are dedicated to embedding the concept of the ‘Waste Hierarchy’ in our day-to-day operations, so we work proactively to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover items and materials. Sending materials to landfill is the last resort. We've been ranked in the Top 10 universities globally in each of the last 3 years, according to the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings, for our efforts towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production (out of 973 universities from 91 countries…

At the University of Reading, sustainability isn’t just a goal, it’s something we’re genuinely passionate about. Over the years, we’ve been making great strides in reducing our environmental impact. Since 2015, we’ve managed to cut waste per person by 35%, and right now, an impressive 62% of the waste we generate is either recycled, reused, or composted. But we don’t want to stop there, we need your help to keep pushing forward! On 12 February, we’re inviting you to take part in our Recycling Challenge in the Library foyer, and we think you’ll have a great time while learning a…

The Reuse & Recycle (R&R) Service is a free, environmentally friendly initiative designed to help departments at the University properly dispose of unwanted IT equipment, from working computers to damaged peripherals. Overseen by the Device Lifecycle team, this service ensures that outdated or nonfunctional devices are either reused within the University or responsibly recycled in compliance with environmental legislation. The Sustainability team have been working with the Device Lifecycle team over the last 18 months to develop and launch this service. What Does the Service Offer? The R&R Service is open to all University departments and allows them to request…

Soft flexible plastic is everywhere – it wraps our bread, vegetables, pet food and many more everyday items. It is designed to be lightweight and to protect items from damage, and keep them fresh; but most of it is single-use and is not generally recycled by local councils as part of weekly kerbside collections. Supermarkets have begun to offer soft plastic recycling services to try and ensure that this material is collected and recycled where possible. These stores have a distinct advantage in this area as they are able to use their empty delivery trucks to transport soft plastics back…

The University of Reading has a fantastic track record on waste and resource use – in 2023 we were ranked the best University in the UK and Europe for UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Responsible Consumption and Reduction (please see this blog for further details). We divert 98.8% of waste from landfill – up from 98.3% last year. We now produce 41kg of waste per person on campus – which is down from 62kg in 2015/16, 35% below our 2015/16 baseline. 62% of our waste was reused or sent for recycling or composting in 2022/23. Further information about our…