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Landscaping team work with researchers to go green

19 Dec 2022

University using home-made compost on campus – dramatically decreasing our carbon footprint

Landscaping team colleagues

The University’s Environmental Services Unit is using compost for work within our grounds produced by our own Sustainable Materials Innovation (SMI) hub.

The SMI hub, based in the Henry Royce Institute, is using its industrial size composting machine as part of an initiative to assess the claims of packaging labelled as compostable or biodegradable.

The compost, which is produced on an industrial scale on site, is collected in reusable bags for use across campus, drastically cutting down on the amount of plastic waste compared to using pre-packaged compost.

Because the waste from which the product is made is sourced locally, and both its synthesis and use takes place on campus, the product never travels further than a few miles.

This has dramatically decreased the carbon footprint of sourcing this product and has facilitated a positive relationship between academics at the forefront of sustainability research and the invaluable work of those making our University a greener place.

Landscape Foreman, Lewis Brown says: “The Environmental Services team holds sustainability and greener practices as central to what we do.

“By working alongside academics at the SMI hub, we have eliminated a lot of unnecessary plastic waste and reduced the carbon footprint of the compost we use.

“Small changes can have a big impact and we hope that moving forward we can continue to put these positive changes in to practice.”

More information

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