Green Issues
The College has a Sustainability Committee, led by Professor Judy Hirst, on which sits representatives from the JCR and MCR. The Committee meets termly and keeps track of what is going on in other Colleges to improve our strategies and facilities in accordance with them. Information on the Sustainability Committee’s work and changes the College have implemented to improve sustainability can be found here - you are encouraged to read this page as it has the most up to date information on sustainability at Corpus.
In 2024, Corpus ranked 5th in Cambridge in the Climate League of Oxford and Cambridge (CLOC), a student-led campaign which ranks Oxbridge colleges based on their climate and sustainability policies. Explore their website to see their methodology and the evidence for Corpus’ ranking.
Look out for a noticeboard with Green Updates about the college which should be coming soon!
Recycling
Corpus is constantly working towards being a more environmentally friendly college. We have a 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.
You can keep doing (or start doing!) your bit for using the mixed recycling 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 (such as the flexible plastics recycling bin in the Pelican Bar). 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
Flexible Plastics Recycling Bin in the Pelican Bar
There is a flexible plastics recycling bin in the Peli where items that can be recycled in supermarkets (but not in the normal blue mixed recycling bin) can be collected. To the left is a list of what can be recycled. Also look out for items with the ‘Recycle with bags at supermarket’ label.
Do your part by keeping a bag to collect these items in your room and when it gets full bring it to the bin in the Pelican Bar to empty it!
Recycling Location Table
If in doubt about where to recycle something, Recycle Now has a useful search tool - their information, as well as some college-specific information is detailed below:
| Object | Location |
|---|---|
| Aerosols (empty) | Recycling bin, make sure that they are empty. |
| Batteries | Battery bin in post room. |
| Biscuit, Cake and Sweet Wrappers | Flexible Plastics recylcing bin in the Peli. |
| 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 charity shops or to our second-hand collections when they happen! |
| Crisp Packets | Flexible Plastics recylcing bin in the Peli. |
| Cutlery/utensils/crockery/glasses etc | Donate to charity shops or to our second-hand collections when they happen! |
| Fruit, Vegetable and Salad bags | Flexible Plastics recylcing bin in the Peli. |
| 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 kitchens. |
| 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 get rewards with their 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 bags can also go in the flexible plastics bin. |
| Plastic Packaging | Check label – recycling bin if able, else flexible plastics 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 - collected in Flexible Plastics Bin in the Peli |
| 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 - collected in Flexible Plastics Bin in the Peli |
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 .
Radiator thermostats
All radiators in Corpus should 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.
Last updated: November 2024