Ebony Banks talked about a reusable-cup scheme at Wrexham Glyndŵr University (WGU) in our December issue. The university has continued to develop eco-friendly projects by launching an initiative to cut food waste.
Waste-cutting food containers were introduced at WGU catering outlets on Tuesday, February 11th by the University’s Eco Club. In conjunction with catering partner Aramark.
Single-Use Container Levy
Firstly, the club offers staff, students and visitors dining in the university’s United Kitchen canteen on the Plas Coch campus the chance to get their hands on a container. Under the new scheme, club members can purchase a tag for £5; this tag is exchanged for a reusable container. Moreover, for every nine uses of the container, club members will receive a free meal. As part of the move towards reducing single-use items across GWU’s catering outlets. Cost is 30p to have a single-use container.
Reducing Amounts of Waste
Aramark Catering Manager Jamie Lovell said: “As caterers, we produce very ‘visible’ waste. We work closely with clients to champion behavioural change and raise awareness of sustainable initiatives. Our new eco-boxes are the latest step towards helping WGU reduce the overall volume of waste sent to landfill.
“Staff and students will be able to become part of our Eco Club through the purchase and exchange of our new re-usable food containers. They will also benefit from a range of great rewards, seasonal offers, and incentives.”
New Eco Club Scheme
Secondly, the new Eco Club scheme follows on from the successful introduction of reusable cups at GWU over the past year. The Glyndŵr-branded cups. Which staff and students get the chance to pick up at regular giveaways across the university’s campuses, have proved to be a hit with users.
WGU Director of Operations, Lynda Powell, said; “It is great to see the take-up of our reusable cups. Nearly one in four of the hot drinks we have served since their introduction has been in a reusable cup. Moreover, it has stopped 23,752 from being dumped.
“We’re looking to build on that success with the introduction of these new eco-boxes. We will continue to work to drive down waste across the university estate.”
Launch at Go-Green Week
The launch took place as part of Glyndwr’s Go-Green Week. Where staff and students took part in a range of environmentally-friendly activities. To find out more about the university’s work on sustainability issues, follow this link
