Policy on Plastic Waste Reduction

The University of Newcastle's Environmental Sustainability Policy explicitly commits to reducing plastic waste across its campuses.

• Under Clause 12 - Waste and Recycling, the policy states that the University will "minimise the use of plastic and disposal items across our campuses".
• This commitment sits alongside requirements to work towards a recycling target, educate staff, students, contractors and the community about waste and recycling, and align preferred suppliers with the University's sustainability goals.

The policy took effect on 8 December 2022 and remained in force throughout 2025.

Putting the policy into practice

• Plastic Free
  The University's Plastic Free initiative supports staff, students, retailers, caterers and partners to move away from single-use plastics. Its goal was to remove single-use plastic products from key campus areas by the end of 2025 through reusable container schemes, compostable alternatives, changes to retail products and stationery, removal of single-use plastics from University-catered events, and participation in circular-economy schemes.

• Soft Plastics Recovery - Bags to Benches
  Through the University's partnership with Plastic Police, soft plastics collected on campus are recovered and transformed into products such as outdoor benches. More than 362,500 pieces of soft plastic have been collected and recycled through the program.

• Simply Cups
  The University collaborates with Simply Cups to collect disposable coffee cups that cannot be processed through standard mixed recycling. Since the program began in 2019, more than 81,000 cups have been collected for recycling into new products. Read more.

• Retailers, caterers and suppliers
  The University provides guidance to campus retailers and caterers on replacing common single-use plastic items with reusable, plastic-free or compostable alternatives. Vendors are also encouraged to comply with NSW plastics legislation and current EPA guidance on prohibited single-use plastic items.

Both the policy and these campus programs reduce reliance on single-use plastics, support reuse and recycling, and help prevent plastic waste from entering landfill and the surrounding environment.

Plastic reduction in 2025

The 2025 Annual Report records the continued operation of Simply Cups and Soft Plastics Recovery as part of the University's expanding waste and resource-recovery programs. This shows that the plastic-reduction policy continued to be supported by operational programs during 2025.

NSW plastics bans guidance provides the regulatory context for prohibited single-use plastic items, including changes that took effect on 1 January 2025.