Waste. Just like at home, I sort!
Breaking the numbers
Since the start of the September 2016 academic year, a vast selective waste sorting project has been implemented by Technical Services and the Vice-Rectorate for Quality, Gender and Sustainable Development policies, as part of the "Campus Namur DurabLE" call for projects (CaNDLE 2013-2015) .
For several years now, the amount of waste collected annually has been growing steadily, and so have the associated costs :
Quantities of household waste (m³) | Removal costs (euros) | |
2010 | 2286 | 44 329 |
2011 | 2249 | 43,245 |
2012 | 2156 | 42,684 |
2013 | 2589 | 53 734 |
2014 | 2950 | 66,026 |
2015 | 2992 | 70,718 |
To this, 935 m³ of paper and cardboard must be added for a removal cost of 8.282 euros.
All in all, this represents around 300 tonnes of household waste and paperboard disposed of with a removal cost of over 78,000 euros, to which must be added the removal of bulky items and handling costs.
Our solutions
Thanks to a partnership with Fost Plus, some of the sorting garbage cans and communication materials were obtained free of charge.
- Nearly 160 waste sorting islands (household waste/paper-cardboard/PMC) have been installed within the university's buildings, with signs listing sorting instructions.
- Bins for PMC and bins for glass are available in cafeterias
- Outdoor garbage cans for selective sorting are also located throughout the university campus.
- Cardboard bins for collecting paper for recycling have also been distributed in offices.
The provision of sorting equipment and everyone's willingness to recycle will make it possible to remove most of the paper and cardboard and PMC that were present in household waste, with the aim of reducing the amount of household waste by 10%.
In addition to the environmental and financial impact, this project reinforces UNamur's commitment to Sustainable Development.