The commitment, which was unveiled on Tuesday (6 November), covers all of the University and Union’s offices, shops, campus buildings and laboratories, as well as its external operations across Leeds.
The first of the phase-outs will be completed across the organisations’ offices and catering by 2020, the University has confirmed, with laboratories and other facilities being offered support to source alternatives to disposable apparatus by 2023.
“The shift in public opinion about the use of plastics has been phenomenal, but organisations of all shapes and sizes need to champion change,” The University of Leeds’s Chancellor Dame Jane Francis said.
“I think this commitment will inspire lots of people to think about how the University – as an institution that leads the way on sustainability – can make a difference.”
During the five-year period, the University and Union will map plastic use across their operations in order to identify which single-use items they use the most of, and which will be the most challenging to replace.
The organisations will also work with partners and interrogate its supply chains in order to eliminate products and packaging from external companies from campus.
Student-led sustainability
The launch of the plastic phase-out, which is called Single Out: 2023PlasticFree, comes shortly after the University ran its first plastic bag-free fresher’s week, with students being offered biodegradable alternatives to plastic carrier bags at campus shops and food outlets.
This move was led by students involved with the University Union, who called for greater action on single-use plastic for the new academic year after successfully lobbying for campus-based food outlets to incentivise reusable coffee cup use.
This campaign led to the University introducing a 20p discount to students and staff who bring a reusable cup to its cafes and bars. The University now also stocks KeepCups in its shops – actions which have eliminated the use of more than 100,000 disposable cups to date.
The Union will now work to eliminate single-use plastic items from its performing arts theatre stage@leeds, with all with glasses and cups set to be replaced with compostable and recyclable alternatives.
Outreach and research
In a bid to drive resource efficiency outside of its operations, the Single Out campaign also involves several staff-led research projects into the environmental, social and economic impacts and opportunities of plastics in materials and processes.
These include a project to develop the next phase of biodegradable, plant-based plastics; an investigation into the flow and crystallisation of polymers in plastics to improve recycling and a study into how post-consumer plastic should be managed to maximise its circular economy potential.
“As a leading research university, we also have an important role in developing expertise,” Dame Francis added.
“From working on alternatives to plastics and helping improve waste management, we’ll be supporting the difficult challenges ahead to ensure plastics don’t end up in the natural environment.”
Sarah George