Campus action guide

What we buy, use, and throw away doesn’t stop at the bin.

This guide brings together simple, practical actions you can take on campus and beyond from refilling and recycling properly, to choosing reuse and second-hand first.

You don’t have to do everything. Pick one change to try this week.

Refill points at Republic

Bringing a reusable bottle is one of the easiest ways to cut down on single-use plastic.

There are refill water stations available on campus:

• Export Building – Ground Floor

• Import Building – Ground Floor

You can top up your bottle throughout the day while moving between spaces on campus.

Small habits add up — refilling instead of buying bottled water helps reduce waste at the source.

Recycling on campus: what goes where

Recycling works best when it’s done right. When non-recyclable items or food residue end up in recycling bins, whole loads can be rejected and sent to landfill.

General recycling tips on campus:

• Make sure items are clean and dry

• Empty containers before recycling

• Follow the bin signage — it’s there to help

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Food waste in recycling

• Coffee cups (many are not recyclable)

• Plastic bags in recycling bins

• Items with heavy food or liquid residue

If you’re unsure, it’s always better to check before you bin it. Recycling is important — but it works best when contamination is kept low.

Second-hand, charity shops & reuse

Buying second-hand and donating items keeps materials in use for longer and reduces demand for new production.

London has a wide network of charity shops and reuse spaces where you can:

• Donate clothes and household items

• Buy second-hand fashion and essentials

• Support local causes at the same time

We’ve curated a short list and map of charity shops and reuse spots to help you get started.

Pick your move — one is enough to start

You don’t need to change everything at once. Choose one action to try for the next 7 days, even better if you do it with a friend.

Reduce

• Avoid impulse buys and stick to essentials

• Choose low or plastic-free packaging when you can

• Before buying, ask yourself: will I use this 30 times?

Reuse

• Bring reusables: bottle, cup, bag, container

• Repair it, customise it, wear it again

• Swap with friends, borrow for one-offs, or resell what you don’t use

Recycle

• Recycle clean and dry items only

• Follow local guidance and bin signage

• Treat recycling as the backup — not the plan

Small, realistic choices make the biggest difference when they’re repeated.

Watch the films

These films explore where waste goes, how overproduction affects people and environments around the world, and why the biggest impact happens before items reach the bin.

They connect everyday choices (clothing, packaging, food) to global systems.

Film programme:

• The Surprising Thing I Learned Sailing Solo Around the World — Dame Ellen MacArthur (TED)

• To Eliminate Waste, We Need to Rediscover Thrift — Andrew Dent (TED)

• The True Cost of Fast Fashion — The Economist

• Fast Fashion: Dumped in the Desert — DW Documentary

• Fashion’s Toxic Threads — The Economist

• How to Solve the World’s Plastic Problem — BBC Ideas

• How the World Is Choking on Plastic — DW Documentary

Quick definitions

• Circular economy — keeping materials in use through reuse, repair, and remanufacture

• Linear economy — take, make, waste

• Microfibres — tiny strands shed from textiles, especially synthetics

• Microplastics — plastic particles typically under 5 mm

• Downcycling — recycling into a lower-quality product

• Contamination — non-recyclable items mixed into recycling, reducing quality