Help us improve the Library’s environmental impact.
In a recent waste audit of library spaces around 30% of our recycling bins were contaminated with items that could not be recycled. The main culprits were plastic bags, paper coffee cups and crisp packets. Contaminated recycling bins can mean that none of the goods in the bag get recycled.
What can get recycled at City
You can recycle of all these items in the dry recycle bins:
- Paper and card (including paper towels)
- Plastic bottles and containers
- Food and drink cans
- Drink cartons
- Glass
City recycles loads of stuff: everything from paper to old stationery and mobile phones. There are only a few things that you can’t recycle at City. General waste bins should only be used as a last resort and should include food-contaminated items, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, disposable coffee cups and expanded polystyrene.
The challenge
During exam season we will be encouraging you to recycle or reuse items to help improve the sustainability in the Library. Our colleagues in the Sustainability Team at City will help us test the contamination rate of recycling points across the Library. We hope that our contamination rate falls to 0 – 20%. Keep watching the table below to see how we do.
| Level 3 | Level 5 | Level 6 | |
| 24th April | 40% | 30% | 20% |
| 1st May | 35% | 30% | 30% |
| 8th May | 33% | 30% | 10% |
| 15th May | 33% | 25% | 12% |
| 22nd May | 30% | 25% | 15% |
| 29th May | 20% | 20% | 10% |
Recycling is good for the planet
According to Planet Now:
- If we recycle all the steel packaging we use in a year, it would save enough energy to make over 50,000 return train journeys between London and Edinburgh!
- We currently save enough energy from recycling glass to chill 34 bottles of wine each day for every UK household!
- Recycling one drinks can could save enough energy to power a TV for four hours.
Library Services and the planet
Library Services work hard to improve sustainability. Over the last year we have organised stalls for water bottles and Fairtrade chocolates, contributed to the City bookshare and raised over £250 for charity. That is why we were named Green Team of the Year 2016-17.
Congratulations to the Library Team (from all four libraries) who were awarded today for being the most sustainable team this year at City pic.twitter.com/2LhrZBFDAW
— City Law School Lib (@CLSLibraries) December 12, 2016