May 2015 2014

As I write this the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. Summer is certainly on its way! And this Summer there are plenty of reasons to get out on campus and enjoy the beautiful scenery. To ensure you see some of the campus’ best assets you could follow the campus walks. As well as a route they give information about some of the features you can see on route. Walking route maps Holywell Walk (taking in the beautiful woodlands) The Village Walk The Paddock Walk The Fountain Walk Towers Walk The Walled Garden Olympic Torch Walk

Welcome to our Newsletter for May Don't forget to check out the website

www.lboro.ac.uk/sustainability

Coming Soon…

Share your campus photos with us and we’ll

do our best to feature them in our next

newsletter

It’s Better OFF @ Easter - RESULTS We’re now back to work after the Easter break and onto looking at the Results from Its Better OFF @ Easter. Over the 5 day Easter Break the campus reduced its consumption by 0.15% and £45. This savings includes all the new buildings and refurbishments that have come online since Easter last year. By removing the consumption of the new builds and refurbishments that have come online (showing a like for like comparison to last year) the figures show a 7% reduction and just over £2k in financial savings. These results Exclude Holywell Park and Students Union Buildings

A really good result and hoping to see the same results over the May bank holiday.

Only 7% of the global e-waste mountain is made up of phones, computers and printers

Urban mine The report found the US was the nation which disposed of most electronic waste with 7,072 kilotonnes generated in 2014. China was second (6,032 kilotonnes) and Japan third (2,200 kilotonnes). European nations topped the rankings of regions measured by how much waste each citizen generated. In Norway, each inhabitant did away with about 28.4kg of electronic waste, found the report. Across Africa levels of e-waste generated per inhabitant were lower at 1.7kg per person. The report said rising levels of discarded electronic equipment were being driven by the growing popularity of domestic electronics and because many modern devices did not last as long as older versions of the same products. Far more should be done to capture e-waste and "mine" the valuable resources used to make such equipment, said UN under-secretary-general David Malone, rector of the UN University. "Worldwide, e-waste constitutes a valuable 'urban mine' - a large potential reservoir of recyclable materials," he said. Buried within the 41.8 million tonnes of waste was more than 16,000 kilotonnes of iron, 1,900 kilotonnes of copper and 300 tonnes of gold as well as other precious metals such as palladium. The combined value of all these valuable resources was about £35bn estimated the report. In addition, said Mr Malone, the massive amount of waste represented a potential toxic stockpile as many of the devices used materials, such as lead, that were hazardous which needed to be disposed of carefully. Loughborough University is contributing to the development of more sustainable and recyclable products through the centre for Sustainable Manufacturing and Recycling Technologies (SMART) a research and development centre based in the Wolfson School. The centre develops new strategies, tools, and technologies which encourage sustainable growth in the manufacturing industry by enabling companies to meet legislative, environmental and ethical standards whilst safeguarding their future prosperity. They have core expertise and knowledge in life cycle analysis, sustainable design, resource and energy efficient manufacturing, end of life processing of products, sustainable consumption and business models which are key enablers for achieving transformational change. Further details for SMART can be seen here: http://www.centreforsmart.co.uk/ The University’s WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) process can be seen here: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/sustainability/waste/weee.html

Microwaves and dishwashers dominate e-waste mountain Old kitchen, bathroom and laundry equipment made up 60% of the 41.8 million tonnes of electronic waste thrown away in 2014, suggests a report. Written by researchers from UN University it details how much e-waste different regions discard. Old microwaves, washing machines, dishwashers and other household items made up the bulk of the waste. Only 16% of the items discarded found their way into proper recycling and re-use schemes.

NEWS FROM THE APIARY: Everything bursts into life in Spring and that includes honey bees. April is when colonies really start to get into gear; healthy queens ramp up egg-laying and workers get busy feeding, foraging and flying as soon as temperatures rise above 8oC. The anxious first inspection mid-April revealed mainly good news for us: three colonies were 'queen-right' and in good shape for the time of year; however the last one had a drone-laying queen which meant the old girl had become infertile. Left to its own devices the colony would die out as it hadn't produced a 'supersedure' queen cell, but through beekeeper intervention we had the option of uniting the dwindling colony with another one, or transferring a frame of larvae and eggs from a healthy hive. We opted for the latter which gives them the chance to raise a new queen cell and remain independent. Time will tell... It's been a marvellous start to the season plant-wise and the bees would have welcomed the new delicate display of Spring bulbs on arrival at the West Entrance. The apiary itself is carpeted with yellow cowslips and mauve ground ivy much to the delight of bumble bees. A quick glance from Manzoni hill reveals Garendon Park is aglow with Oil Seed Rape - a prolific source of nectar which triggers the first main 'flow' of the season. Our colonies should be all over it.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Venus_Garendon_Park.jpg

Injured woodpecker found stunned, taken to vet and then released back on campus Earlier in April one of our colleagues from then grounds and gardens team collected a feather friend after a suspected collision with a bus stop. After a little bit of TLC and a quick check-up the woodpecker was released back into the trees.

ADOPT A SPECIES: Would you be interested in helping us raise awareness of some of our campus residents? Adopt a species is a scheme collated last year to generate awareness of some of the species on campus, their importance and what can be done to protect and enhance their environments From Bats to Bees, find out more at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/sustainability/biodiversity/getting-involved.html Or contact us for a printed copy of the leaflets environment@lboro.ac.uk

For more information visit the website www.lboro.ac.uk/sustainability or contact us

at Travel@lboro.ac.uk

Cycle2work Scheme The Cycle to work scheme is still open The weather is brightening up and we’re all looking to get our summer bodies back on track, Why not invest in a new bike and cycle in to work. The Cycle2work scheme enables you to purchase a beautiful new bike whilst making savings of up to 42% Staff can purchase a bike and safety accessories up to the value of £1,000, TAX FREE, you then pay this monthly straight out of your pay. (salary sacrifice) The Halfords Cycle2work scheme allows you to purchase bikes from Halfords as well as hundreds of partner stores including COGZ/Pedal Power. To find out more please visit our website http://www.lboro.ac.uk/sustainability/travel/cycling/cycle2work.html

Walk & WIN with the Sustainable Travel Challenge 1st May to 15th May 2015 Ditch you car for the next two weeks and put your best foot forward to win a range of prizes. Log your walking miles on the Leicestershire Sustainable Travel Challenge website between 1-15 May to be in the running to win one of the themed prizes on offer. Log your journey here.. https://leicestershirestc.org.uk/ (you may need to create your account first) WHAT CAN I WIN • An Orbit 30 day sack (blue)Log walking or running journeys totalling 12 miles • 1 of 10 bags & bottles To enter the prize draw, log walking journeys totalling 15

miles • A £25 Schuh gift card To enter the prize draw, log walking journeys totalling 20

miles • A Ramblers’ membership for a year (individual or joint for two people at the

same address)