Cambridge University looking to boost recycling to 80% with tech

All dry mixed waste collections will be made by electric, zero-carbon tailpipe emission vehicles. Credit: Mountain Recycling

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The University of Cambridge is looking to boost the amount of rubbish that gets recycled on campus by introducing new bins, 3D scanners and miles of conveyor belts.

Once implemented, staff and students will benefit from having just two types of rubbish bin to choose from; one for food waste and one for dry mixed waste, labelled ‘resource recovery’. The new wheelie bins will be made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic collected from the local area. There will be no general waste bins.

Food waste will be collected and converted into energy at an anaerobic digestion facility. All dry mixed waste collections will be made by electric, zero-carbon tailpipe emission vehicles. It will be taken to a materials recovery facility (MRF), run by Mountain Recycling. At the MRF, waste will be sorted on 22 miles of conveyor belts using near infra-red separators and 3D and 2D scanners, which can identify and sort with precision accuracy.

The trailblazing initiative, a “first of its kind in the UK higher education sector", is expected to boost the university’s waste recycling rate from 50% to 80%.

University of Cambridge facilities management operations manager, Steve Matthews, said: “The University of Cambridge is committed to exceptional environmental performance. The new system will allow us to recycle far more materials than before which will make a positive contribution to protecting the environment.”

Mountain Recycling director, Abigail Johnson, added: “As a team we’re extremely proud to have been selected as a supplier to the university. Mountain Recycling’s innovative sorting technology is a win-win, providing an easy way for bin users to recycle, and an improvement in the amount of resources that can be recycled.”

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