This year, the University of Sussex has saved 437 bags of abandoned items from being sent to landfill, salvaged from items left behind in student residences last year.

Thanks to a joint coordinated effort between the University Sustainability team, Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF), the Students’ Union and the British Heart Foundation, a figurative mountain of abandoned items (primarily clothes and bric-a-brac) from the Park Houses residences has been sorted through and saved from being thrown away.

In total, these items add up to:

• An estimated £6,118 in donations to the British Heart Foundation
• 3.4 tonnes of waste saved from landfill
• 35,579kg of CO­­₂ emission saved

This is a significant improvement on items saved in 2021 and adds up to a huge saving in terms of carbon emissions and waste sent to landfill.

Every year, a large quantity of abandoned and unwanted items are left behind in student residences at the start of each summer. As part of our ongoing plan at Sussex to reduce our carbon footprint and minimise unnecessary waste, items are sifted through and separated for potential re-use and donation, either to the British Heart Foundation or made available to Sussex students via the Students’ Union’s Free Shop.

See more information on Sustainability at Sussex.

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