City of York Council and Yorwaste are rewarding the University of York for boosting its recycling rate from 23 per cent to 39 per cent in just 18 months.

The council's Neighbourhood Services team entered a commercial contract with the University for the provision of waste and recycling collection services back in September 2005. Since then a massive 482 tonnes of rubbish has been recycled instead of ending up in landfill sites. These recyclables are processed by Yorwaste as part of its partnership arrangement with the council.

To reflect the fact that the University has recycled even more waste than expected -  reducing the amount of landfill tax that the council has had to pay - it is being rewarded with young trees to plant on the site.

Geoff Derham, the council's head of waste services, said: "We are delighted to be working with the University and are extremely pleased at the results that we have achieved together.  The University is almost a town in itself and, whilst helping the University with their waste management, we are learning valuable lessons that can be applied to the rest of York."

John Miller, external affairs manager for Yorwaste said: “It’s fantastic to see academic institutions taking their environmental responsibilities seriously. The message of ‘don’t waste waste’ has been adopted by the University of York, City of York Council and Yorwaste, ensuring that valuable resources can once again be recycled into new products rather that wasted."

The university's head of campus services, Sue Johnston, said: "The fact that
we have nearly doubled our recycling rate in less than two years illustrates
how well the entire university community has risen to the challenge.
Together with the council and Yorwaste, we have shown that recycling can pay
dividends for everyone."