Our long-term vision is that AUT won't send any waste to landfill – instead, our waste will be reduced, reused, recycled, repurposed, or composted. AUT will be a place where staff and students are inspired to rethink the future through a circular economy approach.
AUT's short-term target in the Sustainability Roadmap to reduce waste to landfill by 50% by 2025, with a 2018 baseline. We will:
In 2022, we recycled 148 tonnes, created 83 tonnes of organic waste for composting and generated 458 tonnes of waste to landfill. Here are some of the initiatives we're working on around our campuses to reduce waste.
Organic waste is collected in all buildings throughout the City Campus. The aim is to roll this out across the other two campuses with a mix of onsite composting as well as processing compost off campus at the Envirofert commercial composting site. There are eight worm farms/bins for processing food waste from the School of Hospitality and Tourism and a compost hub on the North Campus.
AUT aims to divert as much waste from landfill as possible. These items can be recycled on campus:
AUT is working with staff and students to eliminate single use plastic from AUT. If we don’t act now, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea (by weight) than fish.
AUT has reduced the use of single-use plastics by eliminating plastic bags, straws, cutlery, and plastic coffee cups at all AUT run food outlets.
Many AUT cafes and events now use reusable crockery and cutlery, and all takeaway packaging from AUT cafes is compostable, except recyclable drink bottles and cans. AUT Student Association’s Vesbar offers metal reusable straws.
Help reduce waste efficiently:
Learn about all of our sustainability targets, and what we're doing to achieve them, in the AUT Sustainability Roadmap.