Environment

Information

Arrangements for Environmental Management

Anything not covered in this section please speak to your Green Champion or Environment Officer

 

Recycling

Recycling

UCL operates a two-bin system across the estate for mixed waste and food waste:
1. Food waste should be disposed of in a caddy or bin with a RED bin liner
2. All other general waste (paper, plastic, card, glass, etc) should be placed in a bin with a CLEAR bin liner.

This waste is sorted after collection and recyclables separated out by the contracted waste handler
These waste streams are the same for both communal areas (e.g. department kitchen / common
room) and offices. Please do not put Hazardous Waste or Sharps in these bins.

Batteries can be recycled in the Battery Bins located in the North-West Wing Main Hallway
and Bedford Way Foyer.

Any unwanted UCL purchased computer equipment can be left with your Green Champion, including, mice, corded telephones and keyboards (some of which are donated to the UCL Creche)

Toner and Ink Cartridges are collected by the Drawing Office and recycled via UCL Estates, though
with the new UCLPrint system this may be phased out. They are sent for processing through the
'Each One Counts' scheme. For further details please see www.ebpgroup.com/media.

Used Postage stamps are collected for the Charity "Hearing Dogs" and collection boxes are located
in Departmental Post Rooms

Use WARPit!

WARPit is an easy to use online portal allowing staff at UCL to redistribute (give, loan or share)  resources legally and conveniently within UCL and beyond. The tool makes it easy for staff to find  others with spare equipment and resources. It's all about reducing procurement, saving on  waste disposal, making savings on purchasing and waste disposal costs, as well as avoiding  landfill and carbon emissions. www.warp-it.co.uk/UCL

Why not have a look at our interactive PDF's. The clickable "Guide to recycling" shows you where to put your unwanted items and the clickable "Services & Sustainability Map" shows you what facilities and services are located where in our North-West Wing including recycling, printing and safety.

NB the Interactive part of the PDF works best if you view via Acrobat Reader.

Minimising Waste

Ways to reduce waste

Junk mail (Postal)

So Much unwanted mail is simply binned. Take your name off catalogue or journal lists.  It’s easy – either phone them up and ask to be removed or simply stick a ‘return to sender’ label on your unwanted mail and put it in the external mail box. This will reduce the amount of waste generated by UCL, Save UCL post room staff and Geography office staff from having to carry and sort unwanted mail.

Stickers can be found in Geography Postrooms

 

Scrap Paper

We all print things out, that once read we no longer need, proofs of a paper or diagram. Obviously we should all try and print less, use double sided and where possible make handouts available via Moodle. But there is always scrap paper, keep unwanted single sided A4 sheets in a magazine box or paper box lid. Collect one from your Green Champion. Use the paper for making notes on, or donate to the UCL Nursery (via your Green Champion).

Used Envelopes & Packages

We all receive mail at work, why not consider re-using the envelopes? Sometimes the envelope is not viable for re-use, but often they are, especially larger more rigid envelopes. Also padded envelopes, boxes and tubes. The cost of replenishing the envelopes in our stationery cupboards could be reduced, Re-usable envelopes could be stored alongside the scrap paper. Don't forget used Postage stamps are collected for the Charity "Hearing Dogs" and collection boxes are located in Departmental Post Rooms.

Whole life cost?

Reducing Energy

Ways to reduce energy consumption

Portable Heaters

Please report any issues with heating or cooling to your Estates Liaison. UCL no longer permits the use of portable heaters or coolers. They are only permitted if there is a problem with the temperature of your office or workroom. If you need extra heat or cooling, then contact your Estates Liaison, who will have your room assessed. Once the issue is resolved, the heater will be removed. As with all other electrical items, UCL does not permit heaters to brought in from home.

Lifts

We have lifts in North-West Wing and Bedford Way, try to only use the lift if needed, the mechanisms used for powering use lots of electricity, by using stairs you will be saving electricity and helping yourself get a little fitter.

Rechargeable Batteries

Single use batteries are only available for specialized field equipment. In other cases please use rechargeables, your purchasing officer will advise you. When purchasing computer equipment you will be advised to get corded keyboards and mice, and if wireless versions are required then a charger unit and batteries must also (or have previously been) be purchased.

Air Travel

The Department does not permit the use of Air Travel for domestic flights. All travel bookings must be made through your Finance Administrator who will enforce this. Wherever possible use public transport. The department also has a number of Skype enabled machines and dedicated Skype headsets to help reduce the need of travelling in person to meetings.

Reducing Water

Ways to reduce water consumption

Refillable Water Locations?

There are 2 drinking fountains within the department that you can use to refill your own bottle or jug, rather than spend money on UCL catering supplied water for meetings, why not fill up your own instead. Crockery for meetings is also available for use at small meetings (obtainable from Maria) this saves using disposable plates and cups and gives a more professional feel to your meeting. We are working towards getting the UCL Catering supplier to offer this as standard to reduce the waste created by all UCL departments. When washing up the crockery or any of your own everyday mugs, try not to wash under a running tap. We are also trying to make it clearer to visitors what our recycling policies are.

Water Saving Ideas for the Lab

Washing dirty glassware out as soon as possible after use, can be much easier. Chemicals tend to set as encrustations on glass and once dried, can mean a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to remove the traces and therefore a lot more water use.

There are bowls to fill with water and detergents for your general 'washing up'. This eliminates the need to wash out 80 test tubes under a running tap.

Thinking ahead. When using glassware for various analytical procedures, they often need to be acid washed in advance. Ensure before you start that you know exactly what is needed, it can avoid having to carry out unnecessary repeated acid washing

When washing hands (or gloves) after lab work with soap and water, it is usually possible to turn the tap off while lathering and cleaning your hands, turning it on again to rinse.

When running distilled or deionised water to fill containers, or flushing it through, the ELGA unit may be run to waste, in order to reach maximum water purity before use. This water is absolutely fine for normal lab purposes. Filling a container with this waste will give a supply for washing out beakers, spraying through sieves, using to wet down specimens in picking and microscope work, or even washing hands. 

These ideas can also be applied to general washing up and hand washing in the rest of the department too.

 

Induction

Environmental Awareness Course

UCL has launched a new Green Awareness module via Moodle for all staff and students at UCL. This course introduces the key concepts of sustainability and what these mean for you at UCL. It also makes links to research and teaching so that you can develop an understanding of UCL's global sustainability influence. Take the course: Environmental Awareness Moodle course Adapt these Powerpoint slides to promote the course: Student Induction UCL (PDF)

Resources

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