The benefits of new waste disposal contracts at Derby, Bradford and Leeds Metropolitan universities

No one knows how much waste is generated by higher education institutions – but it is a lot. This ignorance is a problem because there is growing pressure on all organisations to minimise waste – and a growing incentive to do so in the form of forecast increases in landfill tax and other disposal costs.

Fortunately, several universities – including the University of Derby - have met this challenge through new ‘pay by weight’ contracts with disposal companies that require accurate measurement of the waste which is collected. This is achieved by combined electronic identification of individual waste containers with an automatic weighing system on each collection vehicle. Doing this enables universities to pay only for waste collected – unlike the previous situation when it would have paid per skip, irrespective of how full it was.

The data collected means that collection can be better matched with actual generation of waste, allowing savings to be made by reducing the number of bins and/or the frequency of lifts. It also allows enables allocation of the costs of waste disposal to the departments that are responsible for generating the waste in the first place, thereby giving them a financial incentive to minimise.

By using the information provided by its new contract, the University of Derby reduced the average number of bin empties per week from 65 to 48 between 1999 and 2002, and the average number of bins on campus from 136 to 118. This equates to a reduction of over 10% in its total waste disposal bill. Several other universities have since followed Derby’s lead, including Bradford and Leeds Metropolitan, whose contract is contained in an appendix to the case.

The case shows that it is feasible and desirable to have detailed data on waste generation – whatever contractors may say – and also highly desirable, because it can generate significant economic and environmental benefits. Excessive waste generation can be identified and targeted – for example, by charging costs back to departments – and the number of pick-ups can be reduced by better matching collection schedules with accumulation patterns.

The appendix provides a copy of the new, databased, waste contract which has been established by Bradford and Leeds Metropolitan Universities. 

 

Download full case.

 

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