Waste and the Circular Economy
Sustainability Plan at TBU for 2026+
- Educational and awareness-raising events
- Expand the availability of water dispensers
Sustainability at TBU in 2025
- Modifying the design and placement of trash cans
- SWAP events for exchanging clothing and plants
LOKNI dispensers
- Large-capacity dispensers for filtered sparkling and still water
- 7,800 users reached (= 2024)
- 130,115 PET bottles saved (-7,523 bottles)
- Most used at U2
Sustainability at UTB in 2024
Waste Management
UTB transfers the majority of its waste to Marius Pedersen a.s. under a contract from 2023. The take-back of electrical equipment is handled by REDIHEND s.r.o. UTB follows Decree No. 383/2001 Coll. when recording waste types, and the generated waste is transferred to an authorized entity for further use.
In total, 248.7 tons of waste were generated in 2024, of which 172.9 tons consisted of mixed municipal waste and 75.9 tons were sorted, accounting for 30.5% of the total weight. The waste volume per square meter of building area is 2.23 kg/m².
Over the last few years monitored, the total volume of waste increased by 4.6 tons. The main change is a reduction in biodegradable waste from kitchens and cafeterias, which decreased significantly by 7.9 tons thanks to a new centrifuge for processing residual waste at the KMZ facility in Building U4. Of the total separated waste, 43.5 tons were processed for material or energy recovery. This data is based on information provided by Marius Pedersen. Starting in 2024, used markers and pens, as well as spent batteries, are now collected centrally and transported by ACTIVA spol. s r.o. and ECOBAT s.r.o. for further use and recycling.
UTB is working to reduce the amount of waste it generates in the following ways:
- automatic dispensers of filtered drinking water – LOKNI s.r.o.
- coffee sold in reusable mugs – Delicomat vending machines
- KMZ activities – see the Dining section for more details
- upcycling of UTB merchandise and promotional items
- a wide selection of online books in the UTB library
- Support for shared drives for document sharing
- Awareness and education – the UTB Student Association for Climate is dedicated to raising awareness and providing education on waste reduction and waste separation
LOKNI dispensers
- LOKNI dispensers and healthy water free again
- Starting in February 2025, you can fill up on sparkling water for free across the entire UTB campus as part of the University’s plan. We thank UTB management for deciding to temporarily subsidize their operation. Thanks to this, you can enjoy not only still water but also the popular sparkling water throughout the coming year. Where can you find the dispensers? In buildings U2, U4, U5, U11, and U18.
Use of LOKNI beverage vending machines is growing. Last year, we saved 7,914 kg of CO2 from production and 3,441 kg of plastic, which represents 137,638 0.5-liter PET bottles. Compared to previous years, this is 3,472 bottles more than in 2023 and as many as 57,140 bottles more than in 2022.
In 2024, the first university-wide officially organized clothing swap took place, organized by the UTB Student Association for Climate. This free clothing swap immediately gained great popularity among both staff and students. In addition, it was complemented by an educational lecture on fast fashion and a “Sewing and Slow Fashion” workshop promoting sustainability among students.
Sustainable Development Strategy 2025–2030
Sub-goal 2.G. Reduce waste production and apply the principles of the circular economy
Implementation Measures for the Period 2025–2026
- Conduct a waste flow analysis and identify key areas in the circular economy