What is VU Amsterdam doing now, and why?
VU Amsterdam is committed to reducing waste and pollution. Our waste mountain can be greatly reduced, and therefore CO2 emissions and environmental impact can be significantly reduced. Our Zero Waste VU program brings together many measures to reduce and prevent (residual) waste.
No waste, is that feasible?
'Zero Waste' as a goal may be too high an ambition, because waste is created in every production chain and some residual streams are unavoidable. Still, striving for it is valuable: it provides a direction that helps you live more sustainably and consciously.
How do you approach that?
With our suppliers and partners, we are thinking about sustainable operations. Together we want to reduce our CO2 emissions step by step, especially by reducing waste, separating waste and reusing raw materials in a high-quality manner.
Our starting point is the R-ladder, which describes a system in which materials are reused as much as possible and waste is eliminated. It contains different strategies for circularity where the higher up the ladder, the lower the consumption of raw materials. That, of course, is where we want to go!
Take us up the R-ladder?
At the top are the most circular strategies such as Refuse (R0), Rethink (R1) and Reduce (R2), where you buy fewer products and choose alternatives that produce less waste. By doing so, you save the most.
An example: since July 2023, we no longer offer disposable cups at coffee machines and corners. This saves about 1.5 million cups a year! Another example: when moving house, we use moving crates and blankets instead of boxes and foil.
In the middle of the ladder are Re-use (R3) and Repair/Refurbish (R4), aimed at extending the life of products and parts. You use something for as long as possible and repair products when they break down.
We do that at VU, for example, with furniture. All meeting rooms in the VU Research Building have refurbished chairs from the W&N building. When we buy something new, we choose furniture that lasts a long time and whose parts are easy to repair or replace, such as armrests, casters or upholstery of office chairs.
At the bottom of the ladder are Recycle (R5) and Recover (R6). This means materials are collected and processed into high-quality raw materials that can be reused. Materials that cannot be recycled are used as a source of energy. Nice example: from the trees that had to be cut down for the demolition of the W&N building, picnic tables and benches were made for the campus square.
What's going well
Last year we made great strides in the area of separate waste collection. The first results are very good, compared to a year ago the amount of waste has already decreased and the separation rate has increased to about 40%. Next year we want to reach 60%.
Throughout the campus we now separate plastic packaging and beverage cartons (PD), (confidential) paper and cardboard. We do this in all buildings. There are also new recycling bins in the campus plaza. In the Main and NU buildings you will find deposit vending machines where you can hand in cans and bottles. You get your money back or can donate to charity. In one year we collected about 40,000 containers with this! At the HG restaurant, we also collect pizza boxes and food waste separately.
There are also less visible measures. Many waste streams are collected in so-called environmental streets in the basements of many VU buildings. Here there are bins and containers for glass, batteries, light bulbs, broken appliances, metal and wood. Everyone can make use of these. And 'behind the scenes' our caterer, coffee supplier and entrepreneurs like the Spar lend a hand, with the separate collection of glass, food waste and coffee grounds.
What could be improved?
Proper separation is an important condition for recycling. The 'cleaner' the waste or the less pollution it contains, the better the material can be reused. We therefore try to properly inform employees and students what (not) belongs in which waste bin. VU-wide, we now collect about 30 waste streams. We want to expand that. For example, we want to separately collect and recycle tissues from the washrooms. Pilots show that this can be done well; ceiling tiles have been made from them. Every year we purchase about 50,000 kg of paper towels, so that offers opportunities!
Vegetable, fruit and food waste (GFE) is currently collected separately only in the Transitorium. This is going well, but is a laborious process. To avoid inconvenience, the bins must be emptied daily. We are exploring the possibilities of doing this on a larger scale.
What we also want to do even better is to share our ambitions and the results achieved with students, staff and everyone else involved. Because we can facilitate waste separation, but ultimately it is about awareness and behavior of the entire VU community. Setting up waste separation is one thing, but prevention is always better; no waste is the most sustainable option. That's why we work with Sustainability Office and Green Office and participate in initiatives like Green Fair and workshops with Green Ambassadors. It's quite a transition, for VU as an organization and as a community, so to achieve our goals we need everyone.
Got another tip for us?
Join us and throw your trash in the right bin! In doubt? Then throw it in the bin for residual waste so as not to pollute the other waste streams.
