Green Gown Awards 2021: Benefitting Society - University of Warwick - Finalist

End of term enters the circular economy. Closing the loop of circular economy during pandemic to support local community

How frontline key workers within the University of Warwick collaborated with local charities and Emmaus during lockdown, turning waste into resources to create a circular economy project offering regenerative support to the local community while reducing waste.

At Warwick, we want to demonstrate it is possible to be convenient, efficient and fight climate change. Transition to circular economy is essential to preserve natural resources and reduce carbon emissions if we are to meet 2050 climate goals.

The project is a key example of breaking the routine of “buy and throw away” inducing a mind-set change in our students, staff, and local community. Taking place during COVID lockdown, extensive team efforts doubled. End of term items collected for reuse, enabled large quantities of donations to local charities and food banks for the benefit of the community. Incoming students bought donated items and generously raised near to £2,000 of charitable donations.

Top 3 learnings:

• Teamwork is essential and frontline staff are key to make changes happen.
• Think global act local.
• Turning waste into resources.

Videos

• Video #1 (click to hide)