Green Issues
The College has a Green Committee, on which sits representatives from the JCR and MCR. The Committee meets twice a term and has so far drawn up and implemented an Environmental Policy and a Policy for Energy and Water Management within the College, and keeps track of what is going on in other Colleges to improve our strategies and facilities in accordance with them. Corpus had previously come top of the Water Management Strategy, and in 2015 won a gold award in the Cambridge-wide Green Impact challenge.
With the kitchens in the main hall set to undergo extensive work, the Green Committee and Buildings Committee are both committed to making sure possibilities of saving energy are at the forefront of considerations. A termly email will be sent to all Corpus undergraduates from the Green Officer, which will include updates on energy issues surrounding the new kitchens and college in general.
Recycling
Corpus is constantly working towards being a more environmentally friendly college. We have a reasonable recycling system in place in the communal areas of College such as the Bar, Library and JCR. Student rooms contain a mixed recycling waste bin, and Corpus follows the Cambridge City Council guidelines on recyclable materials, as detailed below.
The recycling facilities in the College’s Newnham and T–Street accommodation are fantastic, with wheelie bins provided and emptied by the local council, into which you can put a whole variety of items without the need to separate them out.
You can keep doing (or start doing!) your bit for using the mixed recyling waste bin in your rooms and taking items that don’t go in those bins but can be recycled to their respective recycling locations around College. In addition, please do approach your JCR Green Officer or Catering, Accommodation and Facilities Officer with any ideas and suggestions you may have.
Where to recycle what
| Object | Location |
|---|---|
| Aerosols (empty) | Recycling bin, make sure that they are empty. |
| Batteries | Battery bin in post room. |
| Books | Either donate or hand to Librarian. They are either added to the light reading collection or passed on to second hand bookseller. |
| Blister pack | Boots – sign up to the recycling scheme. |
| Cables | Electrical waste |
| Cans | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean and dry. |
| Card | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean. |
| Cardboard | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean - dirty pizza boxes in general waste |
| Cartons | Recycling bin |
| Cigarette Butts | Ashtrays in the smoking area |
| Clothes/textiles | Donate to our second-hand clothes collection in the post room or the JCR. |
| Cutlery/utensils/crockery/glasses etc | Donate |
| Food Packaging Trays | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean and dry. |
| Food | Food waste bin in Stable Yard. Currently only MCR students have access to compost bins in gyps. |
| Glass (bottles/jars) | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean and dry. |
| Journals | Recycling bin |
| Kitchen Foil | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean. |
| Light Bulbs | Electrical waste |
| Magazines | Recycling bin |
| Makeup and/or containers | Boots – sign up to the recycling scheme. |
| Medication | Take to any pharmacy. |
| Paper | Recycling bin. |
| Paper Towels | General waste bin in kitchen/bathroom. |
| Pencil Sharpenings | General waste bin. |
| Pens/Pencils | Ryman – they offer pen recycling in all stores. |
| Plastic bags | Bags for life can be replaced at shops. |
| Plastic Packaging | Check label – recycling bin if able, else general waste bin |
| Plastic Bottles | Rinsed out, recycling bin |
| Plugs (Electrical) | Electrical waste |
| Polystyrene | General waste bin. |
| Printer Cartridges | Printer cartridge bin in the post room. |
| Rubbers | General waste bin. |
| Rulers | General waste bin. |
| Sanitary Towels | Sanitary bin in bathroom. |
| Tampons | Sanitary bin in bathroom. |
| Tins | Recycling bin. Needs to be clean and dry. |
| Plastic Resin Codes | What? | Where to Recycle? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drinks bottles, some food | Widely recycled - recycling bin |
| 2 | Cleaning product bottles, milk cartons | Widely recycled - recycling bin |
| 3 | Car parts, window fittings | Not easily recyclable |
| 4 | Plastic bags and wrapping | Specialist points |
| 5 | Some tubs and trays | Widely recycled - recycling bin |
| 6 | Takeout boxes, disposable cutlery | Not easily recycled |
| 7 | Other – crisp packets, rice packets | Specialist points |
The Mixed Blue Recycling Bin is for (Defined by Cambridge City Council)
The following can be recycled in the mixed blue recycling bins in college rooms.
Paper and magazines
Tins, cans, foil and aerosol cans
Cartons
Glass bottles and jars
Plastic bottles, pots, trays and bags
Cardboard
Not glasses or crockery, food or clothing.
Not for the Mixed Recycling Bin:
Everything else is to go with the non-recyclable landfill waste (or, if possible, to a specific recycling programme such as the Boots Scan2Recycle scheme) with the exception of the following:
Batteries: These should be taken to the battery recycling bin in the Post Room.
Electrical items: If these are personal property they should be disposed of off-site by the resident. Where these are College property, the Housekeeping Manager will arrange for such items to be disposed of in a WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) manner, typically via the City Council.
Broken crockery should be carefully wrapped and disposed of with non-recyclable waste.
Broken glassware should be carefully wrapped and disposed of with mixed recyclable waste.
Watch this space as we are planning to start collecting more items for recycling in the post room soon. If you have any questions about recycling in Corpus, or have any ideas about how our recycling provision can be improved, please contact the JCR Green Officer .
Hall
When going to hall, please try and bring your own drinking receptacle whether it be a glass, a bottle or a drinking horn. This way we can reduce plastic consumption in hall. There will also be cup free weeks where there are no cups in hall and you’ll have to bring your own!
Radiator thermostats
All radiators in Corpus should now be fitted with a thermostat so that if your room gets too hot you can simply turn your radiator down instead of opening your window and wasting energy! However, a few rooms seem to have been overlooked, so if your radiator does not have a thermostat please email the JCR Green, Accommodation and Facilities Officer and they will let the Bursar know so that the situation can be rectified.