In today’s world, waste might seem like an inevitable part of our everyday lives. Still, there are simple actions we all can take to reduce our contributions to waste streams. Avoiding waste should be our top priority; for instance, we can take reusable items with us to prevent the need for commonplace single-use items at stores or cafes. When waste is unavoidable, reusing or disposing of waste responsibly is the next step.

Despite good intentions, mixed recycling bins are often contaminated with non-recyclable waste. High contamination rates in mixed recycling force processing plants to divert the contaminated waste to landfill. At ANU, we face this challenge of high contamination rates in our recycling bins. 

Our circular economy strategy aims to find solutions to these challenges and support a more sustainable campus and community. In waste, we are working towards reducing what we send to landfill and well as our overall waste, and increasing our recycling rates.. Read more about our circular economy strategy.

One ANU Green initiative to make recycling easier and more effective on campus includes partnering with Return-IT, the ACT Government’s container deposit scheme (CDS). We launched the first machine in the Marie Reay Teaching Centre in March 2023. CDS machines accept glass, plastic and metal containers with a 10 cent refundable label. Depositing these containers at these machines is a more effective way of recycling.

CDS containers are properly sorted by material type (e.g., plastic, aluminum, glass) and sent directly to specialised recycling facilities. This maximises the chance that materials are recycled into new, higher-quality products. When you deposit eligible containers into the CDS machine at MRTC, you donate the 10 cents per container to help fund environmental initiatives at ANU.