Newport – A Green University in the UK’s Greenest City
30/10/2007Printer Friendly Page Newport is the UK’s greenest city according to a recent report from Environmental campaign group WWF which found Newport uses fewer natural resources than any other urban centre. Addressing environmental issues is also a top priority with the city’s University which was revealed as one of the top in Wales in a Green University Guide published by the Times Higher Educational Supplement.
“The University of Wales, Newport is always striving to improve its green credentials,” said the University’s Environmental Officer, Matthew Bellamy.
“We were the first university in the UK to set up an on-site plant for turning waste cooking oil into eco-friendly biodiesel, pioneering the environmentally friendly process of recycling a waste product into a fuel that powers many campus maintenance vehicles and machinery and produces much less carbon dioxide than standard diesel.
“The biodiesel production facility was the latest in a series of environmentally friendly measures at the University. We’re constantly adding energy efficiency measures such as Passive Infra Red sensors to turn the lights on and off when an area is occupied and urinal flush controls to save water.
LEFT: The University’s Environmental Officer, Matthew Bellamy with Head Groundsman Mike Davies on one of tractors that is powered by the University's on-site biodiesel plant
“Eco-friendly design features were vitally important when we were planning the Kegie Building, which was opened this year to provide much needed teaching space to cope with the University’s growing number of students.
RIGHT: Matthew Bellamy (left) the University’s Environmental Officer, examines a sample of the biodiesel fuel produced with Head Groundsman Mike Davies (right). Looking on are key members of the grounds maintenance team Gareth Davis and Neil Humphreys
“The south facing side of the building is fitted with Brise Soleil shades that prevent heat gain and eliminate the need for mechanical cooling in the building, increasing comfort levels and energy efficiency during the summer months. The rain water that falls onto the roof is collected in a tank in the basement of the building and recycled to flush the toilets. In addition, the heating in the building is an efficient, state of the art system that uses the least amount of energy possible,” he added.
The University’s students are also ahead in the green stakes. Newport Business School graduate Steve Berrow’s company fuelled all the stage lighting, sound, BBC outside broadcast cameras and satellite uplinks for the Live Earth Concert, the first totally green powered concert. Steve won an Entrepreneur of the Year award for his company, Bio Tech Oils UK Ltd, which is based in Tredegar and was one of the first companies to bring bio-diesel to Wales on a commercial basis.
How Newport’s University’s Recycling Record Measures Up
- 30 tonnes of cardboard has been recycled = enough power to run a three-bedroom property for 30 years.
- 20 tonnes of Paper recycled = enough power to run a three-bedroom property for 20 years.
- 12 tonnes of glass bottles (approximately 32,000 bottles). One bottle will power a TV for 20 minutes; 32000 bottles will power a TV for 10,667 hours. (4 years and 6 months).
- 12 tonnes of Wood makes 2.5 tonnes of wood pulp which could be made into 17500 copies of a daily tabloid.
- 10 tonnes of Metal = enough to make eight or nine new family cars
- 20 tonnes of CO2. Bio diesel production on-site will save 20 tonnes of CO2 per annum which equals running a family car for a total of 55000 miles or 3 years and 6 months covering an average of 15,000 miles per annum’ or one person making six return flights from London to New York.
