From a recycling pilot project to everyday life

The long-term target on the campus has been to increase recycling and reduce the carbon footprint and costs of waste management. Increasing recycling of the waste generated on the campus is also a part of the university's campus sustainability strategy. 

What started as a pilot project, consumer plastic and carton collecting is now expanding to every building on the campus. From now on almost every type of waste will end up in circulation, and recycling points are available in every break room. With the collection of new types of waste, fewer and fewer products are waste-to-energy material. In addition, sorting has been simplified as much as possible, among other things, so that every user on campus can integrate it as part of their everyday life.

'Most of the plastic waste is generated from microwave dishes and other snack packagings. There is also a demand for cardboard recycling, so it is nice to bring new sorting bins to break rooms to facilitate sorting', says Tanja Pietikäinen, Aalto University Campus & Real Estate's Property Coordinator.

In the future, used plastic consumer packaging must be sorted into waste containers for plastic packaging, and cardboard into containers for cardboard. Plastic packaging should be rinsed with cool water and the carboard flattened.

'All users of the campus facilities play an important role in the success of the sorting. We guide you and want to make sorting an easy part of everyone's everyday life', Pietikäinen continues.

Recycled plastic is used, for example, to make flower pots, mailboxes, sledges and cleaning supplies. Nowadays recycled plastic is also used as a part of plastic bottles. Recycled cardboard, on the other hand, is used to make cases for household and toilet paper, among other things.

There is no waste - remember to recycle!