Zero Waste by 2030
We waste very much food, water and energy worldwide. This is why Utrecht University wants a ‘Zero Waste’ or CO2-neutral, circular operational management by 2030. In other words, a university without waste. Circular is sustainable because it requires fewer goods and resources. This means less energy and fewer resources. As a university, we are going towards an operational management in which we no longer speak of waste, but of resources.
How are we going to do that?
- no more burning or dumping of waste
- reuse as much of products and as high-end as possible
- no more unnecessary purchases
- collaborate with the catering service to make for 50 % less food by 2030
Zero Waste by 2030
Current topics
Sustainable waste separation In our university buildings, we separate waste. The better we do this, the more waste we can reuse or recycle. And the fewer (remaining) waste we have to burn. We use special waste bins with separate waste streams for paper, vegetable, fruit and food waste, plastic and drink cartons, and remaining waste.
Sustainable food and catering Our food production has a big influence on the climate. This is why the food at UU is responsible, sustainable and healthy, and why we counteract the waste of food. Besides this, we work on reducing food waste, and on the use of local and seasonal products.
Sustainable, future-proof buildings We must reduce our effect on the environment by designing and building with environmentally-friendly products. When developing, constructing and managing the buildings, Utrecht University chooses the leading principles: healthy, energy generating and circular. This means we use as few new resources as possible. Where possible, we will reuse construction materials.
More information
Zero Waste UU reduces its waste as far as possible and everything that remains is reused or recycled. See how we do this in this video.
Towards a circular and sustainable economy How do we ensure that our circular solutions are also sustainable?
Dossier plastic Can we come up with sustainable alternatives to plastic?
