London students offered new recycling facilities

Students at London's 21 universities are being given the opportunity to recycle in halls of residences

Last week saw the results published from a trial recycling scheme, carried out by voluntary sector organisation CRISP last year, in university halls of residences across the capital.

While half of students had no facilities provided for them to recycle their waste, the study also showed that those students that were offered recycling services achieved high rates of recycling.

Following the investigation, 200 new external recycling bins have been delivered to 185 halls of residences for all 21 London universities, and by the end of March over 6,600 halls will receive internal recycling containers. The project is being funded by the London Recycling Fund.

Mayor
Commenting on the project, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: “Students have been telling me that they really want to recycle when they move out of home into their halls of residence, but that the facilities simply were not there. That is why I am working with CRISP, the boroughs and halls managers to ensure facilities are made available.”

Waste audits carried out in three halls of residence given full recycling capabilities found that students there recycled 38% of their waste.

CRISP's Victoria Hands said: “Students are tomorrow's decision makers and leaders and they are key to a sustainable future. The Mayor is giving them the facilities they need to make sustainable lifestyle choices and empowering them to live an environmentally and socially responsible way.”