Our latest audit

In May 2024, Facilities Management and the Environment and Sustainability Office commissioned a project to improve our understanding of the university's waste to landfill and container recycling streams. The goals were to explore the university's performance against waste targets, understand the current composition of key waste streams and explore changes since the last audit in 2019. It involved:

• An inspection of waste and recycling pick-up points
• A sort-and-weigh waste audit of waste to landfill and container recycling from 14 pick-up points, including six accommodation buildings
• A review of data provided by waste contractors
• Comparisons with a similar project undertaken in 2019

For three students studying sustainability, the project also offered a work integrated learning opportunity. Gill, Clover, and Ben, from Sustain 200, were employed to assist with the sorting and weighing of samples taken from the Kate Edger Information Commons pick-up point. The process took place at the Tamaki Zero Waste Hub, exposing these students to the waste prevention and resource recovery industry, as well as professionals who work within it. 

Key findings

• In the landfill waste stream, the proportion of plastic had reduced from 19.5% in 2019 to 12.1% in 2024.
• In the landfill waste stream, food waste made up 49% of the sample by weight from student accommodation buildings, and 38.9% of the sample from other buildings. These proportions were similar to 2019. 
• In the container recycling stream, 23.2% of the sample by weight was considered contamination. This was up 130% from 2019. 
• Annually, the university community is currently using approximately 33 million single-trip items on campus, equating to around 800 items per person (including staff and students). 

These findings suggest we need to reduce excess catering and prevent food wastage across our campuses and to continue to find alternatives to single-trip packaging. Staff and students can assist by reading our A-Z guide to waste prevention and resource recovery and utilising the Sustainable Events Guide.