Estates

Waste and recycling

Standing by the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle

 

The Waste & Recycling Department coordinates all waste and recycling activities across the Canterbury/Medway campuses. The University produces a large amount of waste, but by managing our waste streams effectively we can reduce our impact on the environment.  We use the principles of the waste hierarchy to do this with the help of our students and staff:

waste chart

Within the past 5 years 157.4 tonnes of items have been reused by the University of Kent, its staff and students. This has been through the reuse schemes of the British Heart Foundation, Canterbury Food Bank, Warp-it and STUFF (Student Food Bank and Freecycle) to name a few. This is equivalent to the weight of an adult blue whale, the largest animal to have existed.

Our new Sustainable Waste Strategy 2021-26 (see link below) sets out our aims to continue to reduce the amount of general waste we produce and increase re-use and recycling. 

For more information on specific waste streams please click on the drop downs below:

 

Service Level Statement

The Waste and Recycling Service Level Statement provides a comprehensive overview of the services offered.

University of Kent Waste Strategy 2021-2026

For more information on our Waste and Recycling targets, aims and objectives please read our University of Kent Waste Strategy 2021-2026. 

Recycling Hub User Guide 

Read the user guide for the new recycling hub

A-Z of Recycling

Please click on the items listed below to find out how to dispose of your waste, where your nearest facility is and what happens to the waste once it leaves the University. Please note: All general waste skips on campus must now display the completed skip signage form.

Aerosols

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Remove nozzles and place empty cans into a green sack mixed recycling bin. All aerosols are collected by Biffa and processed at the Mixed Recycling Facility in Hersden.

 

Batteries

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Household Type (Dry-cell) Batteries Please deposit into one of the grey lidded battery collection bins. A map of locations can be found here. Please do not deposit batteries in plastic bags or other packaging. Dry-cell batteries are collected by Batteryback for recycling.
Recycling Industrial/Automotive (Wet-cell) Batteries These types of batteries must be collected by specialist contractors. Please do not place them in normal battery bins or general waste. Please email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk for advice. Wet-cell batteries are collected by East Kent Recycling for recycling.

Waste batteries are classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Books

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse We have partnered with the British Heart Foundation who collect books on campus. For a map of locations, please click here. Please make sure books are put into a British Heart Foundation bag, which you can get from your reception or from emailing csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk. Books are collected by the British Heart Foundation and re-sold to raise money for the charity.

 

Cardboard and Paper

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Flatten the cardboard and remove any tape, plastic wrapping or polystyrene inserts. Place in either your nearest green sack recycling bin or external recycling bins depending on size. All cardboard is collected by Biffa and processed at the Mixed Recycling Facility in Hersden.

 

CDs and DVDs

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling CDs and DVDs can be placed into one of the British Heart Foundation donation points on campus. For a map of locations, please click here. Please make sure CDs and DVDs are put into a British Heart Foundation bag, which you can get from your reception or from emailing csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk. Collection points are emptied by the British Heart Foundation and contents re-sold to raise money for the charity.

 

Chemicals and Solvents

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Disposal School of Physical Sciences/School of Biosciences All waste chemicals and solvents should be disposed of by contacting natstech@kent.ac.uk in accordance with local rules. Please complete the Request for Disposal of Waste Chemicals Form and email to natstech@kent.ac.uk. Some chemicals are recovered and reused while others undergo specialist treatment and incineration
Disposal All other Schools and Departments Please email csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk  

Waste chemicals and solvents are classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Confidential Waste

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Put all the waste in a hessian (blue or white) sack and tie it firmly with a cable tie. Contact estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk for collection (think carefully about where to store it until collection). Logistics store confidential waste in special locked wheelie bins until Biffa collect it. It's then taken in a secure lorry to their secure facility with restricted access where it is shredded and baled.

Cooking Oil and Fat

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Waste cooking oil is collected from catering kitchens on an individual basis. Containers should be securely lidded and stored in a secure area. All collections should be accompanied by Duty of Care paperwork. All catering kitchens producing waste cooking oil must display the Cooking Oil Disposal Guidelines. Waste cooking oil is converted to biofuel for road transport and heat and power systems.
Oil is classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Electrical and IT Equipment

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Staff must download and complete the disposal form. Small and medium items such as computers will be collected by Commercial Services & Estates staff and stored in the maintenance yard. Larger items may be collected directly by the waste contractor. All Electrical and IT equipment is taken
by CDL 
https://www.computerdisposals.com/ to
their sorting location where items are
graded for reuse or recycling. All data
baring items are safely wiped before
processing to reuse or recycling. 100%
of these items will be either reused
(if graded meets the criteria) or
recycled.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Fluorescent Bulbs and Tubes

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling To arrange a collection please email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk Tubes and lamps are collected by Recolight where they are recycled.

 

Food Waste

We are pleased to announce that from the 10th of September we have started a 6 month food waste trial in the following buildings; Darwin, Rutherford, Eliot, Gulbenkian, Keynes and Woodys in the catering outlets. The teams will be using the food waste bins for food preperation scraps, leftovers from meals and out of date food.

All of this waste is being collected and taken to the ReFood Dagenham Anaerobic Digestion site, there is an 8 step process in which energy is captured and bio-fertiliser is produced. For more informaiton please visit: www.refood.co.uk/the-process/anaerobic-digestion/

ReFood

In partnership with Kent Union we have created Stuff (Student Foodbank and Freecycle) if you have any food items, kitchenware or homeware that you would like to donate to students please visit www.kentunion.co.uk/stuff for more information on donation days and restrictions on donations.

Furniture

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse

Staff are required to register with the Warp It system, which is used for browsing available furniture stock and listing your unwanted furniture for others to use on campus.

As of December 2018, Warp It users have saved the University over £680,000!

Sign up here!

Primarily furniture should be reused on campus between staff, however if it is in unusable condition they will be donated to charity or recycled.

If you have any questions or queries please contact the Warp It team warpit@kent.ac.uk

 

Glass

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Glass bottles and jars External glass bins are located across the University. A map of locations can be found here. Schools and Departments should make their own arrangements to collect bottles and deposit them in the external glass bins. Glass must not be placed in the general waste or mixed recycling bins. All glass is collected by Biffa and processed at the Mixed Recycling Facility in Hersden.
Recycling Sheet glass Contact csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk who can advise on how to dispose of this safely. Do not attempt to deal with laminated glass yourself. Sheet glass is collected by East Kent Recycling and processed accordingly.

.

Metal

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Metals are collected in a skip in the Maintenance Yard. Please email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk for a collection. Metals are collected by East Kent Recycling and recycled.

 

Mobile Phones

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse or Recycling Old mobile phones can be recycled alongside printer cartridges. Please email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk for a collection. Mobile phones are sent away to charities for reuse or recycling.

 

Oil

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Waste oil and items contaminated with oil should be stored in sealed containers in a secure area and collected by specialist licensed waste contractors. Please contact csfmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk for advice. Waste oils are processed and recycled as fuel oils.

Oil is classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Paint

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Disposal Water based paint/empty containers can be disposed in the general waste bins. Please ensure containers are sealed to eliminate the risk of spillage. Any other type of paint is classed as hazardous waste and must be disposed of via a specialist contractor. These types of materials cannot be disposed of in the general waste bins or metal recycling. Please email csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk for advise. Waste paint is disposed of in accordance with hazardous waste regulations.

Paint is classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Printer and Toner Cartridges

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse Used printer and/or toner cartridges should be either placed in the department's cartridge recycling box or collected by Commercial Services & Estates. Please email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk for a collection. Used cartridges are collected by companies who pay us for the cartridges. Any money raised is donated to charity.

Printer and Toner Cartridges are classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Stamps

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse Stamps should be cut off used envelopes. Once an envelope has been filled these should be sent to: Anna Pollard: Campaigns Manager Development Office Used stamps are exchanged for donation to the Kent Law campaign by JetStamps.

 

Sharps

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Disposal Staff sharps are to be taken to Campus Security which are then collected in one container on campus ready for collection Sharps are removed from campus by a registered hazardous waste contractor who then disposes of these sharps by incineration.

Sharps are classed as Hazardous Waste. For more information on Hazardous Waste disposal please read the Duty of Care Guidelines Including Hazardous Waste Guidelines

Other/Not Listed

Please email csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk for anything not listed.

 

back to top

Aerosols

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Remove nozzles and place empty cans into a green sack mixed recycling bin. All aerosols are collected by Biffa and processed at the Mixed Recycling Facility in Hersden.

 

Batteries

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Household Type (Dry-cell) Batteries Please deposit into one of the grey lidded battery collection bins. Please do not deposit batteries in plastic bags or other packaging. A map of locations can be found here Dry-cell batteries are collected by Batteryback for recycling. Over 55% of the gross weight of the batteries is recycled.

Books

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse We have partnered with the British Heart Foundation who collect books on campus. For a map of locations, please click here. Please make sure books are put into a British Heart Foundation bag, which you can get from your reception or from emailing csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk Books are collected by the British Heart Foundation and re-sold to raise money for the charity.

 

Cardboard and Paper

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Flatten the cardboard and remove any tape, plastic wrapping or polystyrene inserts. Place in either your nearest green sack recycling bin or external recycling bins depending on size. All cardboard is collected by Biffa and processed at the Mixed Recycling Facility in Hersden.

 

CDs and DVDs

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling

CDs and DVDs can be placed into one of the British Heart Foundation donation points on campus. For a map of locations, please click here. Please make sure they are put into a British Heart Foundation bag, which you can get from your reception or from emailing csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk

 Collection points are emptied by the British Heart Foundation and contents re-sold to raise money for the charity.

 

Clothes, Shoes and Textiles

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse We have partnered with the British Heart Foundation who collect clothes, shoes, bags, accessories and textiles on campus. For a map of locations, please click here. Please make sure books are put into a British Heart Foundation bag, which you can get from your reception or from emailing csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk Textiles are collected by the British Heart Foundation and re-sold to raise money for the charity.

 

Cooking Oil and Fat

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Disposal Place in a container and seal tightly and dispose of in a general waste (black sack) bin. Please do not dispose of cooking oil down the sink, this can leads to blockages in the sewage system. Waste cooking oil is sent to an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility.

Duvets, Pillows and Bedding

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Disposal

Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to coordinate a collection of duvets and pillows but we have been in touch with a couple of charities and hope to have collections as of next year. Do note that the British Heart Foundation cannot accept pillows or duvets; however you can place any sheets, duvet covers and pillow covers into the British Heart Foundation clothing banks.

Donated sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases are resold by the British Heart Foundation to raise money and the duvets and pillows are currently sent to Energy from Waste (EfW) facility.

Electrical and IT Equipment

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling Please contact your college reception for advice on how to dispose of electrical waste. Do not place electrical items into general waste bins. All Electrical and IT equipment is taken by CDL https://www.computerdisposals.com/ to their sorting location where items are graded for reuse or recycling. All data baring items are safely wiped before processing to reuse or recycling. 100% of these items will be either reused (if graded meets the criteria) or recycled.

Food Waste

We are pleased to announce that from the 10th of September we have started a 6 month food waste trial in the following buildings; Darwin, Rutherford, Eliot, Gulbenkian, Keynes and Woodys in the catering outlets. The teams will be using the food waste bins for food preperation scraps, leftovers from meals and out of date food.

All of this waste is being collected and taken to the ReFood Dagenham Anaerobic Digestion site, there is an 8 step process in which energy is captured and bio-fertiliser is produced. For more informaiton please visit: www.refood.co.uk/the-process/anaerobic-digestion/

ReFood

We have also purchased a small composter on site which is located at the Kent Community Oasis Garden, for more updates on when this will be available to use please visit our Sustainability pages.

In partnership with Kent Union we have created Stuff (Student Foodbank and Freecycle) if you have any food items, kitchenware or homeware that you would like to donate please visit www.kentunion.co.uk/stuff for more information on donation days, please bring along any tinned or dried food - even in half-used packets - and anything else still in date from salt, herbs and spices to tea and coffee. We will then be holding a pop up event at the start of each term for you to come and collect items! To keep up to date on pop up events, donation events and how the scheme is going please follow us on our social media pages.

If you would like to help with our food bank collections by volunteering during one of our drives please contact Kent Union on how to get involved.

Glass jars and bottles

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Recycling External glass bins are located across the University. A map of locations can be found here. Student flats/houses should use the boxes provided to collect bottles and deposit them in the external glass bins. Glass must not be placed in the general waste or mixed recycling bins. All glass is collected by Biffa and processed at the Mixed Recycling Facility in Hersden.

 

Printer Cartridges

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Reuse Used printer cartridges should be placed in one of the printer cartridge collection bins placed across campus. A map of locations can be found here Used cartridges are collected by companies who pay us for the cartridges. Any money raised is donated to charity.

 

Sharps

Reuse, Recycling or Disposal? Procedure What happens to the waste?
Disposal Student sharps are to be taken to any accommodation reception or Campus Security which are then collected in one container on campus ready for collection. Sharps are removed from campus by a registered hazardous waste contractor who then disposes of these sharps by incineration.

 

Other/Not Listed

Please contact csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk for advice.

 

back to top

Waste Stream What can I put in? Locations
Mixed Recycling (Green Sack) Paper, Cardboard, Cans and tins, Plastics (including food packaging), Tetra-pacs, Aerosols (empty) All accommodation, external dual bins, catering outlets
General Waste (Black Sack) Food waste, clingfilm All accommodation, external dual bins, catering outlets
Glass bins Glass bottles and jars Across campus. A map of locations can be found here
Other Contact receptions for advice Contact receptions for advice

back to top

Where can I recycle?

You can find out how and where to recycle your waste by using the guide below. Unless otherwise stated this applies to both the Canterbury and Medway campuses. These disposal procedures have been prepared to ensure that the University complies with all relevant waste legislation, that materials are disposed of in a cost effective manner and in the most environmentally sound way (in accordance with the waste hierarchy). If your waste stream is not listed, or you are unsure about what to do, please email csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk.

Please see information below on each College receptions opening times during the pandemic. We advise that you check these pages before visiting a reception to recycle https://www.kent.ac.uk/accommodation/contact/reception-hours

View a plan showing Canterbury Campus Waste & Recycling Compounds.

Miscellaneous Recycling

  • Miscellaneous Recycling

    • Please click on the link below to open a map of the miscellaneous recycling facilities on the Canterbury campus.

    Miscellaneous Recycling

    2

    British Heart Foundation

    Battery Bin

    Offices

    Registry

    Please click on the link to open a map of the communal mixed recycling and general waste facilities on the Registry (old section)

    Responsible consumpton and production image

    Waste Compounds (including mixed and glass recycling)

    2

    Litter Bin

    Litter Bin 2

     

    Did you know?

    • 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours?
    • 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy for power a computer for 25 minutes?
    • 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 3 hours?
    • 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials? Here at the University of Kent we use recycled paper.
    • up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled?
    • the largest lake in Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in just 8 months?

     

    Download our Recycling Poster.

    Warp-it

    Warp-it

     

    Our aim in the Commercial Services & Estates Department is to reuse items wherever possible. As of January 2020 we have already saved over £770,000 on purchasing costs through using Warp-it alone.*

    Before buying new furniture please consider our new reuse scheme called warpit, this is an online facility where you can view and request surplus new or nearly new furniture available across campus.

    Two good reasons for this is to reduce our carbon footprint and second it is free!

    Please sign up for a Warp-it account today and start your search for the item/s you need. You can also list items you do not require for other members of staff to take off your hands. So think sustainably before ordering new. We may not always have what you need but it is worth giving us a try before you spend any money.

    If you know of any departments skipping old furniture or items please let us know because there are a number of charities and schools that we also work with who would appreciate any items.

    For more information please contact us on warpit@kent.ac.uk

    warpit

    Click here to sign up.

    *Items remain the property of the University, must remain on site, and are not for private use

    Stuff, Student Foodbank and Freecycle

    As part of our commitment to reusing items, we have partnered with Kent Union in our flagship reuse programme Stuff, Student Foodbank and Freecycle.

    We have a permanent location in Eliot where you can donate and collect food items such as tinned fruit, tinned vegetables, tinned meat, pasta sauces, pasta, rice, noodles, UHT milk, pots, pans, cutlery, mugs etc.

    For more information please visit www.kentunion.co.uk/stuff

    Contact us

    EMail: csefmcoordinator@kent.ac.uk

    Twitter: @unikentrecycle

    Instagram: @unikent.sustainability

     

    Did you know?

    • 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours?
    • 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy for power a computer for 25 minutes?
    • 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 3 hours?
    • 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials? Here at the University of Kent we use recycled paper.
    • up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled?
    • the largest lake in Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in just 8 months?

     

    Download our Recycling Poster.

    Recycling news

    Sustainable Ablutions

    Welcome to the fourth edition in our series on sustainable ablutions. This time we are going to be talking about reusable razors. There are several companies which produce 100% plastic-free, ethically made and reusable razors (see links below). One such company is Up Circle, a 2021 Natural Health Beauty finalist. Their chrome safety razor is unisex and suitable for face and body. It is guaranteed to give you the smoothest shave yet. The double edge razor blades give the closest possible sha...

    9 June 2022

    Sustainable Ablutions

    5 May 2022

    Sustainable Ablutions

    2 March 2022

    Sustainable Ablutions

    18 January 2022

     View more

     
    The University has signed an
    agreement to incorporate the
    UN's 17 Sustainable
    Development Goals into its
    operations and the teaching
    curriculum it delivers.
    The Waste and Recycling
    team believe that goal 12
    Responsbile Consumption
    and Production fits the
    aims of our team.
    To read more about
    the goals and how the
    University is incorporating
    these into our daily
    practices please visit
    the Sustainability webpages.

    The Estates Department- © University of Kent

    The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NN, T: +44 (0)1227 764000

    Last Updated: 05/08/2022