Minimising single use and disposable items

In 2018 the University of Leeds and Leeds University Union launched a joint single-use plastic-free pledge, committing to remove single-use plastics in catering and office spaces by 2020 and across all other areas by 2023.

The pledge was designed to tackle unnecessary single-use plastic pollution while supporting the University's wider commitments to climate action, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and a transition towards a circular economy.

This pledge resulted in more than one million single-use plastic items being removed, whilst also helping us develop a deeper understanding of the challenges around replacing single-use plastics.

Building on this commitment, our approach now focuses on preventing and reducing single-use and disposable items at source. It prioritises reusable products, requires single-use items to be used only where essential and no suitable alternative exists, and considers the environmental and social impacts of products across their full life cycle.

Our action plan also includes reducing plastic packaging, challenging and collaborating with suppliers to develop plastic-free solutions, identifying research opportunities where alternatives do not yet exist, and applying the wider reuse, recycling and waste hierarchy where plastic or disposable item use cannot be avoided.

We also aim to share learning and influence partners, suppliers and wider networks to minimise the use of single-use and disposable items.

This approach is embedded in our Reuse, Recycling and Waste Standard and Single-Use Plastics Management Standard, which can be found on our policies page.