Kingston University London

In 2005 an assistant working with Kingston University’s (KU’s) Sustainability Facilitator, noted the temporal variations of waste at one of their 5 halls of residences. As summer drew near, it seemed as though the students would literally pick up the contents of their rooms and dump them in the bin. Four years on and the End of Term Halls Donation scheme is well established at all 5 halls of residences, expanding in 2007 to include waste from summer conference services plus a closed loop second hand goods sale at Freshers Fayre, and succeeding in 2008 to quantify to the tenth of a kilogram exactly how much waste was diverted from landfill. Working across three University departments, and developing 12 beneficiary relationships, Kingston University are proud to document the continual improvement of this scheme.

How does it work?

The KU End of Term halls Donation scheme realises the potential of quality goods and useable unwanted items, which are product of the halls of residences annual student check out. Each year since 2006 The Sustainability Team convene with halls managers in early May to begin planning the dates and logistics of the scheme. Prior to the period of packing up and moving out, containers are put into place by KUSCO the facilities management team, and student volunteers collaborate with halls staff to communicate the opportunity to all students in halls via posters in every kitchen and internet announcements. Students are encouraged to place their good condition items of any kind into the clear bags provided and drop them off to the conveniently located containers. At this point KUSCO empty the full containers and store the contents in a space for sorting. A Kingston University student is employed to oversee the project and supervise the sorting process, which recruits student volunteers through the Kingston University Student Union (KUSU). The donations are separated according to the beneficiaries needs, and await collection from our beneficiary partners. Five percent of the donations are stored for re-sale to new students at the impending Freshers Fayre. The scheme runs until the last student has moved out, at which point the team move on to phase two; Conference Services. The KU Halls of Residences use duvets and pillows for conference accommodation during the summer months, so rather than send almost new bedding to landfill, the scheme donates all bedding to World Jewish Relief who make a one off annual collection that goes directly to refugee projects in Romania.

Scheme Objectives
§  Divert waste from landfill
§  Support University and local community reuse schemes
§  Raise awareness of waste minimisation within the student and staff community
§  Reduce the cost of waste disposal and avoid landfill tax
§  Sell useful second hand items to new students for reduced prices

Unique Achievements

The total weight of items reused from the summer of 2008 was a staggering 5154.87kg!

We estimate that over the course of four years we have diverted around 12.5 tonnes from landfill through the scheme which equates to a CO2 saving of 5.6 tonnes.

79% of all items donated in 2008 were reused within a 12 mile radius of Kingston University, making the scheme an exemplar of closed loop recycling

The project has been shortlisted for the prestigious Green Gown Awards which recognise and celebrate sustainability best practice from UK Universities.

“Kingston University Halls Donations Scheme is excellent for two reasons; first and foremost it provides much needed extra donations which go towards raising money for vital research. And secondly, it fits in with the ethos around recycling. It’s a great that you make it convenient for students to recycle their old things which would otherwise have been dumped.” (Shibana Choudhry, Regional Officer for Cancer Research)

We are keen to hear from local charities, schools and organisations. Contact us to see if we can support you.

We may be able to donate items such as equipment and furniture to your charity. Contact us.