Waste and recycling

King's is committed to reducing our impact on the environment, including the impact various waste streams across the university have.

We do this by applying the waste hierarchy of 'Prevent, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recovery, Disposal', as out lined by our Waste and Resource Management Policy.

The policy is supported by a Waste and Resource Strategy and Action Plan, which emphasises the need to prevent and reduce waste by working with our procurement team and suppliers, and outlines actions to achieve the aims of the waste hierarchy.

Our waste and recycling targets support this: we have set the target to reduce operational waste by 30% by 2023-24, and to increase recycling to 75% by the same year. We also operate a zero waste to landfill policy.

We measure the amount of waste created on campus, including recycling, food waste, general waste, WEEE waste, construction waste and others. Our waste and recycling targets, data and initiatives are reported publicly through our annual Environmental Sustainability Report.

Students and staff at King's can support us in achieving these targets by reducing waste, and ensuring they use the correct bins on campus. To support this, we have developed a Waste A-Z which explains how common types of waste can be recycled on campus.

What happens to waste at King's?

Recycling: Mixed recycling is sent to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where it is sorted into the different recycling waste streams.

Food waste: Food waste is measured through the data provided by our waste contractor, and treated at an anaerobic digestion plant, which turns food waste into biogas and fertiliser. You can read more about this process here. King's Food work to reduce food waste occuring on campus, and you can read more here.

General waste: General waste is sent to an Energy from Waste (EfW) plant, where waste is burnt and the energy created from this is put into the electricity grid.

Furniture: Staff are encouraged to place these items onto Warp It, a furniture donation platform internal to King's. Read more on Warp It.