By Alexander Hodgkins-Jones
Common items found in student accommodations such as glass bottles, aluminium bottles and cardboard can be recycledThe Orange Bag Recycling Service is reminding De Montfort University students that they can play their part to help the environment, after a recent Leicester City Council study showed that 67 per cent of Leicester’s black binbag waste could have gone somewhere better.
The study looked at the contents of black binbags from several hundred homes across the city, finding that 14 per cent could have been put in the service’s free orange bags.
Bins aren’t all rubbish Credit: Leicester City CouncilJodie Angold, Service Development Officer for Waste Management at Leicester City Council, said: “We give free information [regarding recycling] at the freshers fair; it can be challenging though, as we know students are bombarded with adverts and messages and bins aren’t as exciting as free food!”
Talking about bins isn’t all rubbish though as recycling can have a massive impact on both the environment and potentially on your pocket.
The Orange Bag Service provides free recycling bags to most households in Leicester, meaning students need not fork out for reams of black binbags to rid themselves of perfectly recyclable cans and bottles which are so often a staple of undergraduate life.
Students in halls can simply empty their rinsed recyclable waste directly into the orange lidded communal bins – no black bags required.
Recycling goes towards helping the environment by reducing landfill and saving energy.
If every student recycled one more drink can it would power a library for over a month, which is certainly one way to get your dissertation done.
With students leaving accommodation over the next few months, Jodie also offered sage advice regarding a problem regularly seen by the council.
She said: “Students often struggle with extra waste when they leave properties, but the council offers free bulky waste collection, where up to five items of furniture or waste can be removed.
“If these items are left on the street, students can be fined for fly tipping.”
The message is clear – reduce, reuse and recycle.
For more information on what you can recycle and how to get yourself some orange bags please go to: www.leicester.gov.uk/your-environment/recycling-and-waste/reduce-and-reuse/recycling-for-students
