Economic Reasons
Tighter licensing and laws have driven up the cost of waste disposal in recent years. Public concern over the environmental and health impacts of landfill and incineration has also limited the availability of sites and produced a rise in the cost of disposal. With larger, more rural sites becoming more common, there has been an increase in transport and handling costs for waste. Some waste types only have a few suitable disposal sites, meaning transportation costs can be a significant amount of the total disposal cost.
Economic benefits also exist for colleges and universities that send their waste through more environmental disposal routes. Several waste minimisation initiatives have shown the economic benefits that can be gained by efficient resource use and reuse.
Environmental Reasons
There are two main waste disposal routes in the UK; incineration and landfill, both of which can effect the environment. Which method is chosen depends on the availability of facilities and the kind of the waste that needs to be disposed of. Environmental impacts that occur due to poorly controlled incineration and landfills include pollution to the atmosphere, land and water.
The main environmental aspects for colleges and universities are waste storage and disposal. Ensuring proper waste storage, categorising waste and the diversion of waste away from landfill and incineration towards recycling and composting will reduce environmental impacts from colleges and universities.
Summary
To summarise, increased public awareness means increased staff and student awareness so institutions that have not introduced recycling schemes will be under growing pressure to do so. Institutions must carry out waste management in its entirety rather than just disposing of waste.
Recycling
With the sheer number of people studying at universities and colleges across the United Kingdom the volume of waste created each day is exceptionally large. Therefore recycling is the only option to ease the situation. By introducing recycling bins marked for different types of recyclable materials and as long as every student and member of staff takes an active role in recycling, universities and colleges can dramatically decrease the amount of waste been sent out to landfills and become a more sustainable institution.
Basic materials from universities and colleges that can be recycled are as follows:
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Newspaper
- Magazines
- Drink Cans
- Plastic Bottles
Fire Retardancy
Although most materials can be recycled in some way, there are some that cannot. For such materials other bins will be required and the need for safety in areas where large groups gather is vitally important. Therefore fire retardant bins are a must for colleges and universities.
Clinical Waste
With many university and colleges studying in the fields of medicine, dietetics, chemistry and biology the need for proper waste disposal bins is vital to the safety of staff and students and ensures that waste is disposed of correctly. That is why colour coded bins are essential to any institution.
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