Recyling in Old Courts, St. Mikes and Green Street/Rose Crescent

Paper

Please use your yellow bags to recycle paper - you should have one in your room, if you haven't been given one please ask your bedder. Once your bag is full up please leave it outside your staircase on a Monday or Thursday for the Outside Porters to take away. You can then get a new yellow bag from outside the housekeeper's office in N staircase Old Courts or outside the deputy housekeeper's office at Harvey Court (downstairs near the laundry room). Here is a guide to what can and can't go into your yellow bag: Yes Please!
  • Newspaper
  • Ordinary white paper, Junk mail etc
  • Glossy paper is fine
  • Envelopes without windows
No Thanks
  • Coloured paper such as yellow pages or brown envelopes
  • Envelopes with plastic windows (although you can always rip the window off and recycle the rest!)
  • Cardboard
Alternatively, you can use the large white bin in the bin cupboard at Harvey Court. Top Tip! Some paper looks like it is coloured but this could just be ink - to check rip the paper and if it is white in the middle then it is not coloured all the way through and can go in. Remember! When checking your pigeon holes, there are now yellow bags in the bins directly behind the pigeon holes, the same things listed above can go in there.

Cardboard

Cardboard can be recycled in the large bin at the bottom of H Staircase in St Mike's Court.

Plastic

Plastic bottles can be recycled in the large bin at the bottom of H Staircase in St Mike's Court. Please note that only plastic bottles can currently be recycled. This includes all plastic bottles for example:
  • Water, squash, fizzy drinks type bottles
  • Milk bottles
  • Shampoo bottles
  • Cleaning Product Bottles
Please take the lids off and squash the bottles (LIDS CAN'T be recycled). Unfortunately no other plastic products can go in there. Annoying though this is, this is not a college thing it is because Cambridge City Council can currently only recycle plastic bottles because there are over 50 types of plastic, sorting can be expensive and systems are not very developed. The Council hopes that in future facilities will be available to recycle other types of plastic as well. For more info see Cambridge City Council's website. Or alternatively, http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/nav/page686.aspx

Glass

Glass can be recycled in the passage between Tree Court and Gonville Court (opposite the linen room). All types of glass can go in here, green, brown, clear...multicoloured, whatever!! Red cardboard wine carriers have been put in everyone's gyp room (or if you haven't got one you will have within the next week) for you to put empty glass bottles in, and it is up to the staircase reps to take them down to the glass recycling bin once they are full - pester them to do it!

Cans

Aluminium cans can be recycled in the small green wheely bin at the bottom of H Staircase in St Mike's. Please only put aluminium cans (most drinks cans) in there and not steel ones (usually food tins) as these cannot currently be recycled in that bin. I have been in contact with the council to get a bin that can take both but in the meantime please stick to aluminium cans. Please do not be a little monkey and put BANANAS in there either.. I spotted some in there the other week! Aluminium cans can also be recycled in the cardboard hexagon type bin in the downstairs bit of the bar. Steel Cans can now be recycled in the same bins as the Tins, yey! It is the small green wheely bin at the bottom of H Staircase in St Mike's Court. It has got a new sticker on the front now to reflect the fact that tins can go in.

Mobile Phones

If you have an old mobile phone you would like recycled, please put it into my pigeon hole (Evans, E) and I will send it off. Charities receive a small amount for each phone that is recycled, so much better than throwing them away!

Printer Cartridges

As with mobile phones, please put empty printer ink or toner cartridges into my pigeon hole (Evans, E) and I will send them away to be recycled. For those cartridges that can be refilled charities get a small amount of money for each one, those that can't be refilled are dismantled and recycled.

Batteries

Batteries are classed as hazardous waste so ideally should not be thrown out with normal rubbish. Rechargeable batteries in particular contain harmful metals. Please put any used batteries into my pigeon hole (Evans, E) and once I have a few I will take them to the Milton Recycling Centre to be recycled. Please put any damaged or leaky batteries in a plastic bag or envelope so they don't get goo on my pigeon hole.