Sustainability Report 2023
Resources & Waste management
Various resources are consumed at the university in administration, research and teaching, as well as for the operation and maintenance of buildings and properties. At the same time, waste is generated that must be disposed of properly. In addition to hazardous waste, which is generated in laboratory operations, for example, this also includes recyclable materials, organic, garden and electronic waste. The area of resources and waste management is therefore also a relevant one for the sustainability report.
Dealing with waste
As stated in the university's sustainability mission statement, the university aims to act in the spirit of the circular economy and endeavour to reduce its consumption of resources and the amount of waste generated on campus. The legal requirements for handling waste for the university as a commercial waste producer are much more far-reaching than for private households and differ significantly in some areas. Compliance with the waste disposal requirements is mandatory for all people on campus.
Waste separation has been successfully implemented at Bielefeld University for over 20 years. Waste can be separated into packaging, paper, organic waste and residual waste at the waste stations in the university buildings. Many of the separation systems, where organic waste is currently collected in a separate container or not at all, are gradually being equipped with an additional module for organic waste and also for used glass.
- Indoor waste stations
Bielefeld University Before these waste stations were introduced, the offices were equipped with residual waste bins, but this often led to the disposal of recyclable waste. In an experiment, facility management started removing residual waste bins from the offices and replacing them with waste bins. The waste stations were installed in the corridors and ensured that the waste ended up in the correct bin again after a short familiarisation period. The positive experience led to the decision to extend this model to the entire administration, so that all residual waste bins in the offices were gradually removed.
Waste separation has led to a steady reduction in mixed waste over the years, despite an increase in student numbers.
- Outdoor rubbish bins
- Hazardous waste
The Hazardous Waste Disposal department of the Faculty of Chemistry is responsible for waste containing hazardous substances. A waste officer is based in the Infrastructural Facility Management FM.4, with the task of advising and supporting the university management and all university members in matters of waste avoidance and recycling, as well as waste disposal.
In focus
- Furniture warehouse
Bielefeld University operates a furniture warehouse from which departments, facilities and faculties of the university can obtain used furniture for their use free of charge. Furniture (desks, cupboards, shelves, chairs, etc.) that is no longer needed can be collected for storage in the furniture warehouse after an appraisal and assessment of the old furniture by the staff.
Current news can be found on the corresponding page of the Facility Management department.
- Waste information portal
You can find current information on the subject of waste on the corresponding information portal of the Facility Management department.
- Collection of toner cartridges and printer cartridges
There are toner collection boxes for the manufacturer Ricoh and collection boxes from the "Sammeldrache" campaign for non-Ricoh toners in most of the university's copy rooms. In both cases, the collected cartridges are reconditioned and reused after an inspection and only disposed of if they cannot be reconditioned. The respective departments / secretary's offices are responsible for purchasing the Ricoh boxes themselves. The collection box for the Collection Dragon campaign can be requested by sending an email to abfallwirtschaft@uni-bielefeld.de.
Paper waste
Since 2017, paper waste at the university has been reduced by well over 50%. The reason for this is not only the advancing digitalisation of administrative processes (e.g. the digital examination file or paperless notification of UniCard completion), but also the increased awareness of (unnecessary) printouts. In addition to the reduction in paper consumption, a positive consequence of this development is that workstation printers are being used less and less frequently or are being purchased and replaced by group printers that can be accessed from several workstations in the corridor.
- Reasons for reducing paper consumption
The reduction in paper consumption also contributes to a lower environmental impact, as an average of 2.46 kg of CO2 equivalents are released for the production of 500 sheets of virgin paper and 2.21 kg for recycled paper. The water required for production is around 130 litres for virgin paper and around 50 litres for recycled paper (source: Goethe University Frankfurt: Sustainability in the office - saving paper at Industriepark Höchst). High paper consumption also increases the amount of space required for storage and archiving, which in turn ties up additional resources. The amount of work involved in creating, processing and storing paper-based documents is also high. These are all good reasons to reduce paper consumption as much as possible in the interests of sustainability.
- Saving paper in everyday university life
Practical examples
- Softphone
After installing Softphone, all employees with a Windows or Mac IT workstation provided by BITS can make calls from the classic physical telephone on their desk via their computer instead of using a classic telephone. The user's own university telephone number is retained regardless of location, even when working from home. Calls can also be made with video and are encrypted. Especially for new employees who do not yet have a physical telephone, this saves new devices and resources.
All information about the softphone can be found on the BITS website.
- eFile
As part of the E-Government Act of North Rhine-Westphalia, the use of documents within the administration at Bielefeld University is being continuously digitalised. The introduction of the electronic file (eFile) aims to create a seamless representation and documentation of all administrative processes without media disruptions. A process-orientated approach has been chosen, which also saves work by transferring files between different administrative areas. Other important functions of the eFile are in-house circulars and the filing of service agreements. In future, the special public authority mailbox will also be integrated into the eFile.
- BITS printing service
As the digitalisation of their studies progresses, students need fewer and fewer printouts of lecture notes, seminar papers, master's and bachelor's theses or presentations from courses in paper form. The multifunctional devices have been used less and less in recent years, so the provider no longer wanted to continue operating them. Since then, high-quality book scanners have been available in the library, which can be used free of charge and also minimise damage to books and journals.
- Digital Christmas cards
Since 2021, university employees have been able to create their own personalised Christmas greetings using a greeting card generator and send them to as many recipients as they like. Various designs and text modules are available that can be customised. There are no paper Christmas and New Year cards at all.
