Waste Disposal Request
At the start of August 2025, the Estates' Wren system was replaced by a new system called Concerto, so there are changes to the process for requesting waste disposal collections, which will now be undertaken via the new FixMy platform within Concerto - you can read about the changes. During August 2025, only the Estates Helpdesk will have access to raise job requests in Concerto, so please follow the link to the Estates Helpdesk webpage for details of how to call, or send an email, to request waste disposal.
From the start of September 2025, all colleagues across the University will be able to raise waste disposal requests by clicking on the green Waste Disposal Request Form button on this page, which will take you to the FixMy page on Concerto . For details about how to log in to FixMy and to use the new Waste Disposal Request Form please scroll down on this page and click on the 'more details' drop-down under the heading 'Hints and tips to use the new Waste Disposal Request Form (via FixMy on Concerto)'.
From the start of 2025/26 academic year, the disposal costs that are currently re-charged to Schools and Professional Services for the collection of waste items by the Porters (via the Waste Disposal Request process) will be paid for centrally by Sustainability Services; but Portering labour costs will still be re-charged to each requester for each job via a Project Code. Any waste disposal requests that the Porters cannot undertake, and which therefore require the University's waste management contractor (Select Environmental Services), or other Estates' contractor, to undertake, will be re-charged in full to each requester. Commercially-operating areas (e.g. Catering, SportsPark) will continue to pay disposal costs for their waste collections, via monthly re-charging by Sustainability. Schools will continue to pay disposal costs for clinical waste, hazardous waste and ad-hoc collections that are undertaken directly by Select, via monthly re-charging by Sustainability.
You can currently request a waste collection via the Estates Helpdesk for the following items:
✔ Furniture, bags of confidential waste, pallets, non-IT electrical equipment, bulky waste, and large amounts of day-to-day waste that won't fit in local bins. These items will be collected by the Portering team and re-used or recycled, where possible, before disposal.
✔ Domestic-sized fridges, freezers, chillers. These items will be collected by the Portering team for recycling.
Please do not use the online form for the following items; you must contact waste@reading.ac.uk directly if you need to dispose of any of the following types of items:
❌ Commercial/industrial fridges, freezers, chillers, aircon equipment - which may be too heavy/bulky for the Porters to move;
❌ Chemicals, paints, oils, gas cylinders, fluorescent tubes, lab waste or contaminated items (including all hazardous waste and clinical waste);
❌ Large, bulky or very heavy items that cannot be easily lifted and moved by hand.
For all data-holding equipment and all IT equipment, please use the free-of-charge 'Reuse & Recycle Service' offered by DTS - do not use the Online Disposal Request Form. Please also read the IT Equipment Disposal Policy if you need to dispose of IT equipment.
Please note that the Online Waste Disposal Form may only be available to staff working on campus whilst connected the University network, not when working from home. If you have problems using the form, or you want to discuss a complicated disposal request, please send an email to waste@reading.ac.uk
Hints and tips to use the new Waste Disposal Request Form (via FixMy on Concerto)
more details
- Raising a Waste Disposal Request is now done via the FixMy page on the Estates' Concerto platform. A Waste Disposal Request is basically treated as a Portering Job Request and will be overseen by the Portering team, not by Sustainability Services.
- When on the Concerto log in page, scroll down and click on the grey button that says 'Log in with your Network credentials', which should then use Single Sign On (SSO) to log you into the system.
- When logged in and on the Concerto Home Page, click on the text saying 'Raise job (FixMy)' - although firstly you may need to click on the drop-down arrow on the left-hand sidebar next to the text 'Helpdesk' in order to see the FixMy link.
- Within FixMy, you will first need to select the specific Site where the waste is located.
- Then you will need to select the specific Building or External Area where the waste is located. Please note that you will need to raise multiple job requests if you have waste in different rooms, and in different buildings/locations.
- If a Building is selected, you will be asked whether the request is for the whole building - normally for a Waste Disposal Request you need to click 'No' - then select the specific Floor and Room where the waste is located. If External Area is selected, you will be asked to describe the location of the issue and give any other details in a 'Location Description' free-text box.
- Next you will be asked what type of job request you are submitting, so for a Waste Disposal Request please click on the button that says 'Request for a customer funded service (Security, Cleaning, Waste)'. Click on the 'Yes' button when asked if you are raising a Portering job; and then click on the 'Waste' button for the Portering classification.
- You will be given the option to request a specific date and time by which the job should be undertaken by the Porters, but please be aware that they need at least 3 to 5 days to process and book-in job requests.
- Next you will be asked to provide a Project Code to be used as the funding source, against which the Porters labour/time will be re-charged. Please ensure that the Project Code supplied is valid and correct.
- On the next screen, you will be asked to provide as much detail as possible about the waste items in the room/location previously specified, so please include the type and number of items, their size and weight, and any access issues (including keys or door codes required); this will help prevent processing and collection delays. Please note that you no longer need to choose 'Item Type', 'Sub Type', 'Size' and 'Quantity' drop-downs, so all of this information must be included in the 'Additional information' free-text box. If any of the items are heavy or bulky, please give an explanation in the free-text box.
- If any of the items are from a laboratory, please ensure that they have been decontaminated and have a decontamination form attached, if applicable; and declare this in the free-text box.
- On the next screen you have the option to upload a photo or file. If it's possible to take a photo of the waste items, particularly any items that are 'unusual' or heavy/bulky, and upload the photos here, this will be very useful to the Porters.
- When you have finished inputting information for the Waste Disposal Request, a Job Summary page will be shown to you - please check that all the details are correct and that detailed information is given for each item. If you need to make a change, or add more information, please click on the 'BACK' button below where is says 'Raise a job' to make changes. Once you are happy with the Request, please click on the 'CONFIRM' button and you will be given a job number on the next screen. The form will then be sent to the Portering Helpdesk to be processed, and the Porters will undertake the job.
- If you have any questions or issues with a Waste Disposal Request, please contact the Porters in the first instance on porters@reading.ac.uk and quote the Job Number that you were given.
- If you have items in different rooms in a building, or in different locations, you will need to raise further Waste Disposal Requests once the first one is completed.
- To track the job requests that you have raised, you will need to click on the 'Helpdesk' icon on the Home Page, when logged into Concerto (or click on the text saying 'Helpdesk' by first clicking on the drop-down arrow on the left-hand sidebar next to the 'Helpdesk' heading). Then click on the 'Portering' tab in the middle of the screen, followed by the 'All records' tab underneath.
Order New Confidential Waste Bags and/or a Collection of Cartridge Recycling Boxes
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If you require new (empty) confidential waste bags to be delivered, or you want to request collection of full printer/toner cartridge recycling boxes, please do this via the new FixMy page within the Estates' Concerto system by raising a Portering Job Request (not a Waste Disposal Request). Or send an email to waste@reading.ac.uk with details of how many items, the location, and any access requirements for the Porters. The request will then be passed on to the Porters for them to undertake on a free-of-charge basis.
Please note that you must use the Waste Disposal Request Form to request collection of full confidential waste bags.
Skip hire
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If you are having a clear out, or are moving offices and have a lot of waste to dispose of, we can arrange skip hires. Charges apply and do change over time, so contact us waste@reading.ac.uk for an up-to-date estimate.
Please remember to reduce waste by re-using wherever possible - the University has a re-use portal (called Warp-it) and a contract with an equipment reseller (UniGreenScheme).
Personally owned IT equipment
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The University no longer provides a service for staff to securely dispose of their personally-owned IT equipment via the online shop. If you are using a personally-owned piece of IT equipment for business purposes, under the University's Bring Your Own Device Policy, and you want to dispose of it, please contact DTS via device-lifecycle-dts@reading.ac.uk to discuss options.
Disposal Charges
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Schools and Functions must cover the cost of disposal of unwanted waste items in line with the University's Waste Services Recharge Policy. A valid Project Code must be given when filling in the Waste Disposal Request Form, which will be used to re-charge the Porters' labour/time to undertake the job. Once a Waste Disposal Request is received it will be processed by the Portering team and the Porters will then collect the items. Please note that the Porters' labour charge will still be charged if items specified on a Waste Disposal Request are subsequently not made available when collection occurs, or are incorrectly labelled for disposal.
Are there charges for items in good condition which could be re-used?
Firstly, please offer items that are in good condition to other departments using the Warp-it re-use portal; re-homing items via Warp-it is free of charge when the items are stored locally (the person claiming items is responsible for any collection/delivery costs). However, if your item does not find a home and you would like it removed, you will need to complete the online Waste Disposal Request Form. Portering labour charges will apply for the collection of all items.
Where items in good condition are sent for disposal, the Porters will assess them and, at their discretion, put them into storage (if there is space available) to be advertised for re-use via the Warp-it platform. When items are "rescued" in this way, the Portering charge paid by the original owner covers the cost of the Porters moving the items to storage for advertisement on Warp-it. The storage, advertising via Warp-it and any disposal is jointly managed by Sustainability and Portering teams.