Recycling scheme a big hit with Worcester students

Emily Roscouet and Megan Feeley from the University of Worcester.

Recycling by Worcester students has increased by 20 per cent, thanks to a campaign organised by Worcester City Council.

Council recycling officers launched a drive at the start of the new term to raise awareness of recycling among the city’s students, and have been pleased with the high level of response.

The high student population of Worcester means there is the potential to collect over 45 tonnes of recycling every year, contributing to the council’s overall recycling rate of 38 per cent of waste across the city.

The campaign – which runs until the end of November – focuses on the University of Worcester’s campuses in St Johns and the city centre.

Sian Stokes, Recycling Officer at Worcester City Council said: “Worcester has been the fastest growing university in Britain, and now has more than 10,000 students. That means there’s an increasing need for a targeted and effective waste management programme.”

As part of the campaign, council recycling officers and university students have been visiting halls of residents and private student houses across the city to encourage participation in recycling.

So far, 21 halls of residents – containing more than 1,000 individual student rooms – have been visited by the teams.

Next week, 329 privately rented student properties will be targeted in the next phase of the campaign.

The group talks include :

An overview of how recycling works in Worcester;

Details about the campaign and how the council and university can work together;

Distribution of green recycling bags for every kitchen, plus bin stickers and posters for communal areas.

Katy Boom, Director of Environmental Sustainability from the University of Worcester said: “The response to the campaign has been fantastic, and it’s great to see so many of our students doing their bit to make Worcester a cleaner and greener city.

“We have seen a phenomenal increase in student halls recycling since we started this joint initiative. I am really excited that student volunteers are going to be visiting houses this year. The focus for second and third year students is ensuring they put into practice what they learnt in halls about recycling and, now they are more independent, putting the correct bin out each week.”

As part of the campaign, a competition to win £50 worth of Amazon vouchers has been set up at www.facebook.com/worcesterrecycling . For a chance to win, students are being encouraged to leave a funny, preferably recycling related comment, starting with “I’m a student, not a waster because…” Competition terms and conditions – including the closing date of 30 November – are on the competition page.

For further information about the campaign, please contact either :

Sian Stokes on 01905 752 974 or sian.stokes@worcester.gov.uk

Katy Boom on 01905 855 243 or k.boom@worc.ac.uk