The Group won a competitive tender to provide a collection and processing service for the university.
This will involve the collection of 1,000 tonnes of general waste and mixed recycling per-year from the University’s three sites in Carlisle, Ambleside and Lancaster.
Cumbria Waste Group has pledged to achieve a recycling and landfill diversion rate of at least 90% in the first year of the three-year contract, which has an option for a further two years.
This will include carrying out a communications programme with students to encourage them to recycle correctly. Three types of wheelie bin will be sited across the three campuses – one for plastics, glass and tins, another for paper and cardboard and one for general waste.
Dual stream solution
Mark Wilson, Cumbria Waste account manager, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to provide waste and recycling services on behalf of the University of Cumbria.
“In our tender proposal we used our experience to propose a dual stream recyclable solution which will see card and paper being recycled separately from other materials such as glass and plastic. This will improve the overall quality of the recyclable material.
“We are the only waste company in Cumbria that has made the significant capital expenditure to be able to offer this solution, releasing the potential for greater levels of recycling.
MRF
Cumbria Waste Group will carry out over 500 bin collections each month on behalf of the University. All the material will be taken for processing to one of the company’s four materials recycling facilities (MRFs) across Cumbria. Facilites include the £1.25 million MRF at Hespin Wood, near Carlisle, opened in 2014 (see letsrecycle.com story). The company also operates sites at Penrith, Workington, Kendal and the Lake District.
Lachlan Fulton, environmental and sustainability manager at the University of Cumbria, said: “As a large organisation, the University inevitably produces a significant amount of waste which needs to be handled in an environmentally sustainable way.
“Cumbria Waste Group has been appointed to help us do this and through engaging with staff and students we are confident we can achieve our environmental goal of 90% diversion from landfill.”
Mr Wilson added: “We will be working closely with the University to improve recycling and achieve higher recycling and to do this we will be encouraging the students to think about the waste they produce and how they can either minimise this or ensure they recycle it in the correct way.
“The students come from all over the UK, and abroad, and depending where you are from there can often be mixed messages when it comes to recycling, so by getting everybody to understand how the recycling will be done at the University, this should increase the overall recycling rates.”
Cumbria Waste Group is owned by Cumbria county council but run wholly independently by a Board of Directors.
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