THE ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY

WASTE MANAGEMENT SUB-GROUP (WMSG) OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL

SUSTAINABILITY WORKING GROUP (ESWG)
Notes of the 9th WMSG meeting held on 21st January 2009 at 10 a.m. in Room SC06.
Present: Laura Muir (Convenor), Bill Walker, Ian Webster, Gavin Murison, Angela
MacIntyre, Mark Boyd and Keith Fraser.
Apologies: John Prince, Davie Nelson, Tim Conner, and Abhishek Agarwal.
The main theme for the meeting was cultural change.
Ite
m
1

Notes

a
b
c
d

Action

Minutes of previous meeting (24/11/08) and progress on action points

not covered in the agenda
Shanks sponsorship of student project being followed up by the
IW
marketing dept. of Shanks.
Ideas for better dissemination of information to staff and students
TC
Tim was not present to report back on this. This item will be
reviewed by the subgroup at a future meeting.
Disposal of food waste this item now comes under the discussion
AMacI /
of Envirowise (see item 5)
IW
Recycling of disposable hot drinks cups 3 members had tried the
AMacI /
new scheme for staff to use their own mugs at Costa. Unfortunately
BW
the general uptake has been very low and it was felt there was a
need to raise awareness and follow up on the Bulletin and Going
Green articles. It was recommended that signage at the POS (poster
or card on the counter) be created and Bill offered to help with that.
There is still an issue regarding disposal of take-away cups to be
addressed.
Increase the amount and visibility of recycling efforts in the
IW
university for paper, plastic and other waste streams:
Articles in the Bulletin and RGU: Going Green have been produced to
publicise achievements and highlight issues surrounding the missuse of bins. However there are still problems being reported.
IW
Recycling bins - Problem of overflow and contamination of recycling
bins in ABS canteen signage issue regarding use of the corporate
image was reported (IW meeting Kate Bowden in Marketing Dept. to
resolve).
AMacI to liaise with MB regarding information to students on this
issue in the weekly (Monday) emails sent to all students.
It was noted that recycling points work better than bins in general
areas (normal bins are also required to prevent contamination of
recycling bins).
The problem of using cardboard bins in wet areas at RGU:Sport was

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AMacI/
MB

investigated. IW reported that the Sport centre would need to

purchase their own (plastic) recycling bins for wet areas.
IW
Recycling of batteries IW has organised a scheme with Shanks
(publicised in the Bulletin and Going Green newsletters) with
collection at the mailroom. Numbers of batteries will be monitored
and the School of Engineering will be added to this collection.
PCs and peripherals RL looking at scheme with Remploy (for
people with special needs). Issue of pick-up to be addressed. IW to
report back in next 2-3 months.

IW

Toner & Ink Cartridges Storage is also an issue for this waste
stream. It was suggested that there should be a yoyo type scheme
for procurement. IW to investigate.
f Reduce disposable plates and cutlery in RGU catering outlets:

IW
AMacI
/IW

It was reported that the reopening of the catering facility at Scott

Sutherland building should reduce the high number of disposable
items used at Grays. It is hoped that this will encourage students to
eat in the canteen rather than take-away. It is also hoped that the
forth coming changes to buildings including new seating will also
encourage more to eat-in. This is one aspect of the cultural change
which needs to be addressed.
AMacI
AMacI will obtain figures for % eat-in and % take-away so that the
situation can be monitored.
MB reported that there is not a significant problem of polystyrene
waste in the student Union due to dry take-aways only being
provided.
KF
There was further discussion about the use of real mugs (as an
alternative to disposable ones) including vacuum cups with lids.
KF reported that mugs with lids have been given out in the MarS
project promotion (Forum Print, supplier of corporate goods @
approx 1.50). KF to report details at the next meeting.

LJM

It might be possible for the catering dept. to sell the mugs for reuse
(this will be considered by AMacI once we have the details).
g Electronic Document Management Systems
KF
Further to item 5b in the previous minutes, an update was provided
by KF. The system has been launched on the test server and
Academic Affairs (pilot) are making changes to the configuration
before ITS make it live (roll out team required) by web access. The
implementation needs a cultural change away from H/S drives.
It was also noted that departments should record before and after
data on what they use so that an impact analysis of the EDMS can
be conducted. KF to keep the subgroup updated on developments.
Feedback from main Environmental Sustainability Working Group
(ESWG) meeting on 13th January.
a IW attended as substitute for LM and reported on the activities of
the subgroup.
b Environmental Policy document to be approved shortly
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c Student pledges to be implemented by July

YoYo Report and matters arising
An electronic copy of an article on closing the recycling loop and the
Yoyo report slides were circulated to members prior to the meeting.
The recycling model applied in the Yoyo scheme (collection of used
paper at the same time as delivery) was discussed. It was noted that
the model would lock RGU into the supply of paper and cost benefits
of this were not clear. This would be reviewed when the paper
contracts were renewed and that this would involve the procurement
department. IW and BW to follow up with procurement and review of
Shanks contract
Envirowise Report
IW summarised Envirowise (http://www.envirowise.gov.uk). A report
will be produced for RGU in the near future (including food (not
water) and other waste management). IW to report back when the
full report has been received.
Reducing paper waste
a It was noted that Jonathan Shackleton was reviewing the circulation
of RGU: News and the possibility of making it available electronically
and reducing the number of paper copies.
b Strategic Review of Printing LM was invited to the next meeting of
the implementation group on 30/01/09 (of which BW is already a
member) to represent the views of the WMSG. LM to report on this
at the next meeting
c Ecofont The Ecofont an eco-friendly font that reduces ink usage
(http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html) was discussed and it
was agreed that this would be suitable for internal personal use for
draft copies, proofreading etc. and that LM would pass this on to the
Strategic Review of Printing implementation group.
Effecting cultural change
This item was discussed in the context of all the agenda items.
Cultural change in teaching and administration practises needs to be
addressed more fully and involve DELTA and other relevant
departments.
Teaching - It was noted that Moodle had had an impact on copying
volume and printing. The use of laptops in lectures was discussed as a
means of reducing the need to print. It was also noted that there was
a need to review submission practises to allow wider use of electronic
submission via Moodle to reduce the need for printing and copying.
For those documents which must be printed the submission format
could be reviewed. These might be addressed in the Print Strategy
Implementation.
Administration KF reported that School Admin managers are on the
Records management Network and that environmental issues could
be addressed in this forum.
It was generally agreed that the WMSG should promote the inclusion
of waste management issues on all committee agendas so that it
becomes part of the culture of the organisation. This would mean that
when new policies and procedures are formulated, the impact on the
environment (including waste management) would be considered.

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IW/
BW

IW

LM

LM

LJM

Student involvement in waste management projects

a It was noted that a group of students had started up a People and
Planet Society. Members welcomed this student interest and
involvement in projects.
b A number of other student initiatives were highlighted fashion
exchange, second-hand book shop and an annual scheme for reuse
of items left behind in vacated student flats. Any information or
publicity for promotion of these schemes to be sent to LM.
Date/time of next meeting
10-12am, 10 March 2009, venue to be confirmed*. (*since the
meeting the venue has been arranged room H230)

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