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I recently saw a video (almost certain it was on YouTube) about a university department where they had installed some measures to improve their waste management. One of the measures was to no longer put trash cans in each individual office, but rather have bins in a central point in the building (like the hallway).

Now, I want to introduce this idea in my own department, but I cannot for the life of me find the original video I watched. They gave good reasons why to do this, like getting up and moving to take out trash. I remember vaguely that it was a technical department where they also needed to recycle Styrofoam and such. I'm almost certain it was an English speaking university, and different people were interviewed (researchers, professors, ...)

Does anyone know the video I'm talking about? Alternatively, can anyone list the sorts of benefits one can achieve by removing individual trash cans in favour of communal trash cans in common areas?

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    Have you tried looking at your browser history? If you found it through Google you can also view your Google search history
    – LShaver ♦
    Mar 13, 2017 at 16:45
  • It turned up in the suggested videos on youtube while watching another video. And unfortunately I had my viewer history turned off on youtube. I did re-watch some recycling video's in the hopes it would turn up again, but no luck.
    – Marloes
    Mar 14, 2017 at 14:29
  • If you were logged into your google account when on youtube, there should be a history logged there too (independently of your browser and google search settings).
    – LShaver ♦
    Mar 15, 2017 at 2:45
  • It was exactly the setting in my google account that was turned of. And I also don't find it in the browser history, maybe I watched it on the app of my phone or it was before the last time I cleared my browsing history.
    – Marloes
    Mar 15, 2017 at 12:57
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    The uploader could have removed the video. Finding a video of the sort would certainly be useful to encourage similar practices. It is being discussed at my university.
    – stragu
    Aug 17, 2017 at 6:20

2 Answers 2

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This is a similar but not the exact answer.

From my recent web search result, I happened to visit this page: Recycling & Waste Minimization by Office of Sustainability, The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Their recycling approach had some resemblance of what have been described the question. I have noted the following points.

Point 1. Item example is "Styrofoam" (may be a coincidence)

The following text have been quoted from above link, which included the anchor link tab "How Recycling Works at UIC".

START WITH SMART MATERIALS

It begins when the materials available for use on campus are chosen based on compatibility within our recycling program. If an item (for example, Styrofoam cups) is provided for use on campus, it is everyone’s responsibility to ask why it was chosen in the first place. Watch how Joe Iosbaker, UIC Recycling Coordinator, explains the recycling system in this short video.

Point 2. Links to a video on YouTube

"This short video" is linked to a video on YouTube. The video has length of 3:46 minutes and the description has been quoted at below:

UIC Recycling Program Basics

UIC Office of Sustainability Published on Feb 16, 2012

Joe Iosbaker, UIC Recycling Assistant, goes over how the UIC Recycling Program works. Recorded and edited by Andre Thomas, UIC Office of Sustainability Media Intern, Fall 2011.

Point 3. Have bins at central point i.e. "Hallway Recycling"

There is an inline image under the quoted text. I have captured the top-half of the image and transcribed relevant text from the image.

Partial screenshot of How Recycling Works at UIC

Desk-Side Recycling - Place all recyclable materials in the small blue bin by your desk.

Hallway Recycling - If you don't have a desk-side bin, or when the bin is full, sort the materials in the hallway stations. We all have a responsibility to properly recycle at UIC.

Nonetheless, UIC is an English speaking university.

Missing points

Despite the resemblance, there are few missing points:

  • No mention of "no longer put trash cans in each individual office" (However "Desk-Side Recycling" seems to be not necessary, as hinted by description text for "Hallway Recycling").

  • No mention of "good reasons" why the approach was established as such at their university (They only explain how their approach works).

  • No mention of "needed to recycle styrofoam and such" (Besides the brief mention of "Styrofoam cups" as example and other solid waste such as food scraps collected at their dining halls; bottles and cans).

  • No mention of "different people were interviewed" (There is only one person who explain the recycling steps in the video).

After all, this answer might not be the one that OP was looking for.

I wish there were more reliable clues in the question to figure out how they managed to remove trash cans from the office at all. Based on the broad clues of "English speaking university" and "no trash cans", I can guess of only one place: Singapore. Although, I only heard that Singapore provides no trash cans in public area and not aware of waste management inside the buildings.

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Maybe this is what you are looking for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FkFGr8_GW0

There are many possible ways to reduce waste. The main waste generator is packaging. If possible, focus on reducing packaging and promote up-cycling and recycling.

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  • Interesting video, but there is no mention of removing trash cans from offices to reduce waste, like the OP mentioned.
    – THelper
    Mar 14, 2017 at 9:56
  • Indeed, this is not the one I am looking for unfortunately.
    – Marloes
    Mar 15, 2017 at 12:58

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