In addition to a large amount of waste equivalent to urban waste, FEUP produces in its teaching and research laboratory activities a considerable amount of waste of very different types, many of them being hazardous waste likely to cause damage to the environment or public health. The responsibility for the management of this waste falls legally to the institution, but it is also and mainly from the perspective of sustainability, social responsibility, and the training/education of its students that FEUP has invested over the past 20 years in the promotion of proper waste management.

Regarding waste management options, priority should be given to prevention and reduction, and the FEUP and the Comissariado para a Sustentabilidade have promoted some initiatives in this sense. Examples of measures aimed at the prevention and reduction of waste production are:

  • promoting the use of reusable water bottles by distributing bottles to first-year students
  • promoting the use of reusable coffee cups in vending machines by making available in each machine the option without cup, at a lower cost, and the sale of reusable cups in the FEUP shop;
  • the non-use of disposable products in events;
  • the use of network printers for multiple users;
  • Organisation, in partnership with Lipor, of Repair Café events, whose aim is to give damaged equipment a second life.

In order to enable reuse, recycling, other types of valorisation, specific treatment or adequate disposal, it is essential to have correct sorting and selective deposition in order to keep the waste flow separated by type and nature. Therefore, FEUP:

  • has several recycling bins inside the buildings placed in different locations, for the separation of recyclable urban waste – paper, plastic and metal packaging, and glass – as well as specific containers for depositing batteries, ink cartridges and toners;
  • promotes the collection of paper at workplaces, using tailor-made cardboard boxes specifically for paper collection;
  • promotes good practices in the treatment of laboratory waste, carrying out quarterly collections and the appropriate forwarding of waste by companies authorised by the Ministry of the Environment;
  • promotes the collection of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) and of used cooking oil in its community, making containers for this purpose available at the recycling bin;
  • ensures the segregation of its non urban waste, forwarding it appropriately through non urban waste management operators authorised by the Ministry of the Environment;
  • has an ecopoint and a warehouse for the temporary deposit of waste, before final disposal.

FEUP is registered in the Integrated System for Electronic Registration of Waste (SIRER), supported by the SILiAmb platform, where it fills in and submits the Integrated Waste Registration Map (MIRR) annually.

Annually FEUP produces about 2870 m3 of urban waste[1] that are collected by municipal services – undifferentiated waste and selective fractions forwarded for recycling: paper/cardboard packaging, plastic/metal packaging, and glass. The remaining waste totals about 25 tons, in 26 categories[2]:

Residue EWL[3] Quantity (ton)
Mercury-containing waste 060404* 0,00010
Waste paints and varnishes, containing organic solvents or other hazardous substances) 080111* 0,02000
Halogenated solvents and solvent mixtures 140602* 0,081
Solvents and solvent mixtures 140603* 0,206
Paper and cardboard packaging 150101* 0,720
Wooden packaging 150103* 0,960
Packaging contaminated by hazardous substances 150110* 0,173
Metal packaging, including empty pressure containers 150111* 0,02938
Absorbents and filter materials contaminated by hazardous substances 150202* 0,380
Out-of-use equipment containing chlorofluorocarbons, HCFC, HFC (WEEE containing chlorofluorocarbons) 160211* 0,040
End-of-life equipment containing hazardous components (hazardous WEEE) 160213* 1,206
End-of-life equipment (WEEE) 160214* 2,414
Laboratory chemicals, containing or composed of hazardous substances, including mixtures of laboratory chemicals 160506* 2,635
Inorganic chemicals that are out of use, containing or composed of hazardous substances 160507* 1,158
Batteries and accumulators 160605* 0,200
Mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles, tiles and ceramic materials 170107* 4,160
Paper and cardboard 200101* 3,240
Glass 200102* 0,020
Pesticide-containing residues 200119* 0,003
Fluorescent lamps and other mercury-containing waste 200121* 0,060
Edible oils and fats 200125* 2,250
Electrical and electronic equipment that is out of use 200136* 0,660
Plastics 200139* 0,110
Brass 200140* 0,950
Mixtures of municipal waste treated 200301* 0,370
Monsters 200307* 3,560

[1] Estimated value

[2] MIRR data 2023

[3] European Waste List code

 

  • Plan your work to avoid/reduce waste production.
  • In vending machines, use a reusable coffee cup.
  • Use a reusable water bottle.
  • Dispose of waste in the appropriate places.
  • Promote the separation of waste and dispose of it correctly in recycling bins.

Correct waste separation is essential for efficient recycling. As an example, consult the rules for separating your waste on the Sociedade Ponto Verde website, as well as some tips for recycling.

Plastic is everywhere and is part of our daily lives. In health, transport, clothing and food. Despite its many advantages, the way we have used plastic – a linear form – has contributed to environmental degradation and pollution, especially in the oceans.

The Portuguese Plastics Pact is an unprecedented collaborative platform that brings together the different players in the national plastics value chain: government, producers, retailers, recycling organisations, universities, NGOs, associations and others.

A circular economy for plastics in Portugal, where these materials never become waste.

It is important to ensure that all the plastic waste we produce returns to useful resources.

To this end, the Guide “Why Plastic was launched. a>?”.

  • Before printing any document or information,
    1. question whether such printing is strictly necessary;
    2. consider the need to print the whole document;
    3. question whether there is a need to have the document in colour or whether black and white (or greyscale) suffices;
    4. promote the printing with two or more pages per printing page, in the case of documents with graphic or text elements with large dimensions or fonts (for example, presentation slides);
    5. check that it is the correct document, the correct version and that the print format is correct and as intended, using print preview.
  • When formatting documents for printing:
    1. avoid using dark backgrounds with light lettering;
    2. Consider the need for photographs;
    3. Have pre-defined black and white (or greyscale) versions of logos and heraldry on documents;
    4. Ensure a good, balanced print area to reduce paper consumption to what is strictly necessary;
    5. Use fonts that reduce the consumption of cartridges or ink cartridges (for example, fonts with blank pixels while maintaining their legibility).
  • Configure the default print settings using:
    1. As a “default printer” network printers with higher capacity;
    2. Duplex printing;
    3. Black and white printing.

Did you know that each tree felled can produce 10,000 sheets of A4 paper.

On average, a tree for paper production (such as eucalyptus) is capable of producing 20 reams of paper. As each ream has 500 sheets, 20 reams have 10 thousand sheets, A4 size of 75 g/m².

However, these values may vary depending on the type of tree and the paper production process.

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