Turning waste into opportunity this Global Recycling Day
As people and organisations come together for Global Recycling Day on Wednesday 18 March 2026, we want to remind you that every small action on campus can have a major impact on our recycling rates and waste management.
Last summer, we started to make vital changes to the way we collect waste on campus.
We introduced food waste bins and more paper and card bins. We also moved bins to different locations to better support you in recycling and separating out your rubbish.
More improvements to come
We know that we still have some work to do – but with over 800 bins on campus we are making changes as quickly as possible.
Things we are working on include:
- adding improved signage to our bins to ensure that you can put the correct items in the correct bins
- positioning 12 glass bins in our most-used building foyers so we can recycle glass jars and bottles
- partnering with our new waste contractor Suez to deliver informative webinars
- updating our online guidance for both students and staff
- continuing to move some of our bins, such as in our Student Life Building, to ensure enough capacity is available at peak-times
It’s important that nobody on campus moves bins around themselves. We have a process for monitoring our rubbish and make decisions to move bins based on footfall and usage across campus. Please leave this to our Campus Services team.
If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions about waste management and recycling on campus, please email the Sustainability team.
How to get rid of and recycle your rubbish properly on campus
When you sort your rubbish right, you’re backing sustainability at LJMU and helping to protect the planet. It’s a small move with major impact.
Here are some top tips for recycling properly on campus:
- Check before you chuck – get to know which bin is for what.
- Don’t put packaging in our food waste caddies or bins – if it’s not edible, it doesn’t belong there.
- Put glass bottles and jars in our new glass bins – not in the mixed recycling bins.
- Rinse out containers before recycling – make sure any leftover food or drink doesn’t land in a recycling bin.
- Remove plastic film from packaging, like meal trays, before recycling – the film is unrecyclable and should be put into a general waste bin.
- Keep plastic bottle caps on before recycling – to ensure they get recycled too.
- Keep electronics, batteries, and vapes out of bins – they need special disposal and we have battery and vape bins in foyers (removal of electrical items needs to be requested via the Estate Development and Campus Services Helpdesk).
- If you have unwanted or broken furniture, request removal via the Estate Development and Campus Services Helpdesk – please don’t move this yourself or leave it in corridors where it can become a health and safety risk.
Putting the right stuff in the right bins means recyclables actually get the chance to come back as new products, but if recyclable materials go into our general waste, they become a lost resource.
Similarly, if the wrong item ends up in a recycling bin, the entire bin load becomes contaminated and will get rejected at our waste contractor’s recycling facilities.
To find out more about which items can go into our different bins, visit the Recycling and Waste Management webpages.
Join us for our annual waste audit on Friday 20 March and receive a £25 Love2Shop voucher
If you are interested in how we recycle and dispose of our general waste, why not join us on Friday 20 March from 10am to 3pm (although we may finish earlier) in the James Parsons Building, Room G.09, as we do our annual waste audit.
We’ll be sifting through some of our recycling and general waste to record the most common items that we are throwing away. We want to understand whether any incorrect items are going into different waste streams and if there is a difference in waste items collected across different areas on campus.
We will be providing lunch vouchers for all volunteers that can be used in our Core Cafes, and you’ll get a £25 Love2Shop voucher after the audit as a thank-you.
We’ll provide all equipment including gloves, a protective suit to go over your clothes, and shoe coverings as a precaution. Don't worry though, we won't be opening any bags that look too messy - or smelly.
Register as a student volunteer
Waste audits are useful for identifying what waste streams and bin provision is needed in different areas, and to improve communication and signage where items are frequently going into the incorrect bins.
