News Archive

The University of Western Australia is leading the State in recycling as the first West Australian University to sign up for a national program, Do the Right Thing, Use the Right Bin .

Five recycling and waste bin systems, worth $16,000, will be installed in the Guild Village on UWA's Crawley campus as part of the student-driven initiative.

While UWA already has office recycling programs in place, up until now there have not been any bins in areas where students congregate outside during study breaks.

UWA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson will launch the project on the Oak Lawn next Monday, September 14 with entertainment by "green" guitarist and singer Dave Robertson.

The recycling project, made possible through a $25,000 industry partnership with the Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, aims to improve recycling habits.

PSF General Manager Jenny Pickles said she was impressed with UWA's proactive approach towards becoming more sustainable.

"UWA was the first within the State to sign onto our higher education recycling program, making them a vanguard in the area of effective and efficient recycling on campus," Ms Pickles said.

"With other WA universities and TAFEs lined up, our main objective is to get a Statewide recycling initiative rolling and to educate and encourage students, staff and visitors to Do the Right Thing, Use the Right Bin by recycling their packaging materials."

A recent survey by the Australian Council of Recyclers revealed WA was the third-worst State for recycling at 33 per cent, ranked well below the leading recycling rates of the ACT (74 per cent), South Australia (68 per cent) and Victoria (62 per cent).

According to a recent PSF survey, 80 per cent of aluminium, glass and PET drink containers respectively are recycled in Australian homes, while the away-from-home recycling rates are only 25 per cent.

UWA Environmental Officer Elisha Ladhams said the University hoped to improve its home-away-from-home atmosphere by making recycling easy for students.

"A key success in the development of the UWA recycling program has been the collaborative work of staff and students. This has enabled us to glean wisdom from a diversity of sources, to make the program more relevant," Ms Ladhams said.

Media references

Elisha Ladhams (UWA Environmental Officer) (+61 8) 6488 7391 / (+61 4) 0192 0232
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)          (+61 8) 6488 5563 / (+61 4) 3263 7716