Case study: Away from home recycling

One of the recipient organisations in the Packaging Stewardship Forum’s away-from-home recycling initiative is the Queensland University of Technology. The PSF has donated 40 bins and, with the Australian Food and Grocery Council, provided funding for an audit of the university’s rubbish.

The audit of 900 kilograms of rubbish found that 37.5 per cent was recyclable, 41.9 percent was organic compostable, and only 20.7 percent was non-recyclable. With more than 10 million litres of waste removed from QUT each year, the potential for recycling is huge.

QUT cleaning manager Brian McCarthy and sustainability coordinator Julia Callaghan said the rubbish audit coincided with new recycling bins being introduced on external areas across the university’s campuses. “Our biggest challenge will be to get students and staff to use them properly,” Mr McCarthy said.

“We’ve tried recycling bins previously but unfortunately they have usually been too contaminated with other waste to recycle. These bins are a new design and sit next to a regular bin, which should encourage people to think about what they are throwing out and whether they are using the right bin.

“Hopefully with the new bins QUT will be able to reduce the amount of waste we throw away. We are aiming for 80 per cent of all the waste thrown away in the public places and food areas to be recycled,” he said.