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Sustainability at Reading

A photo of Park Eat marketplace

INITIATIVES

SUSTAIN IT REUSABLE COFFEE MUG

We have introduced a 20p tax on disposable coffee cups and launched a range of resusable mugs that can be purchased at our catering location

SUSTAIN IT REUSABLE BOTTLE

We have introduced Coca Cola Freestyle machines that allows students and other customers to use their refillable bottle

PLASTIC STRAWS

We have removed all plastic straws from our operations

CASHLESS CAMPUS

All bars, cafes, and food outlets on our Reading campuses are now cashless, which helps reduce the mileage involved in handling cash around campus
A photo of a student with a Sustain It bottle

JOIN THE EFFORT TO HELP MAKE OUR CAMPUSES MORE SUSTAINABLE

USE A REUSABLE COFFEE MUG

Reusable mugs are on sale across all catering venues.

Not only are you helping to reduce your impact on the environment but you will also avoid our 20p tax introduced on disposable hot drinks.

The profit from this charge is ring-fenced  and used to fund sustainable initiatives within catering services.

USE A REUSABLE BOTTLE

Sustain It reusable bottles are on sale at our catering venues.

These can be used with our FreeStyle coca-cola machines, helping to reduce the amount of plastic sold on campus.

FREE DRINKING WATER

We have identified water points on Whiteknights and London Road campuses where you can fill up your bottle for free.

FAQs

The University of Reading has pledged itself to a Fairtrade policy, as part of the many criteria we agreed to fulfil for the future of Fairtrade on our campus. For more information please visit the Sustainability website

Our kitchens are all Marine Stewardship Council Awarded so all fish products meet higher standards of fishing with a particular focus on marine conservation & sustainable fishing. You can find out more at www.msc.org

Our outlets currently are leading the way in recycling with rates. We currently recycle paper, card, tetra paks, oil, left-over food & trimmings, plastic bottles, cans and lots more smaller items. We have achieved Gold in the Universities & Colleges Green Impact Awards. Food waste from catering outlets on campus is collected by the University approved waste contractor from our 240lt wheelie bins.  The primary disposal process for the University’s food waste is anaerobic digestion. The collected food waste is used in anaerobic digesters to produce renewable energy. Approximately 100 tonnes of food waste recycled via Anaerobic Digestion on campus per year.

Cooking food is energy intensive whether at home or eating out. Our outlets use modern and efficient equipment reducing the amount of energy required. We use a variety of technologies to take this further such as heating Park Eat using outside air with Air Sourced Heat Pumps (basically collecting lots of small amounts of heat and squashing it to make it hot). We have been busy installing LED lighting across our outlets to reduce energy consumption by around 95%. Our bar areas are using state-of-the-art chilling equipment reducing energy use by up to 90% in some cases

We source our milk from a local supplier and in addition to this the University is a Dairy Farmer itself, with a large herd of cows. As far as possible we source produce from as locally as possible through our Greengrocer. Seasonal produce is used throughout our menus to help keep our prices are reasonable as possible. The University also safeguards the National Fruit Collection in Kent which contains thousands of species, you can find out more information at www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk

For more information please view our food policy.