Waste and recycling
We want our students to manage their waste responsibly and have a positive impact on the local environment.
Like many areas in Sheffield, residential areas where students commonly live can experience issues caused by irresponsible and careless approaches to waste management. We understand the issue this can have on local residents, permanent and student alike.
We aim to educate and support students to ensure waste is recycled and areas remain clean and tidy.
Overflowing, contaminated and missed bin collections
- Speak to the students directly
If you feel comfortable in doing so, we would recommend attempting to speak to the students directly in the first instance. They may not understand Sheffield's recycling system and not realise they are doing something wrong, or the impact they are having on other local residents.
We understand that this might not always be possible and we would never expect residents to put themselves into a situation where they feel unsafe or threatened.
If you do manage to speak to the students directly, make a note of the time and date and their attitude towards you and to being asked to manage their waste more responsibly. This is useful information for the universities for possible future discussions about their behaviour.
2. Contact the landlord or letting agent
If there are ongoing problems with students at a property managing their waste you may want to contact the landlord or letting agent directly, if you know the details. Landlords have a responsibility under houses of multiple occupancy (HMO) licenses to ensure their tennants are not causing nuisance to their neighbours.
If you are unable to find details of the landlord, the universities may be able to help if the property is registered on our approved student housing schemes; Smart Move Sheffield (University of Sheffield) and Snugpad (Sheffield Hallam University). Contact us.
If you feel the landlord or letting agent is not taking the issue seriously you can contact Sheffield City Council's Private Housing team.
3. Report a missed collection to Sheffield City Council and Veolia
If a bin has been missed from a collection you can report this to Sheffield City Council.
Sometimes a recycling bin might not have been collected because it is contaminated with the incorrect waste materials. Bins can be reset by Veolia once per property per year.
Flytipping
Flytipping and other street waste is dealt with through Sheffield City Council's Streets Ahead contractor, Amey. Amey will respond to reports of flytipping within two working days and will also clear any waste within sight of the report.
Litter
Litter is a problem in many parts of the city. The universities support students and local residents to undertake litterpicking in their local community through advertising of litterpick events and loans of equipment.
Contact the University of Sheffield to borrow litterpicking equipment.
FixMyStreet App
FixMyStreet is a website and app that allows users to report a wide range of issues to the relevant local body for attention.
The app can be useful if you are out and about and don't have the relevant Council links at hand, however, as it is a third-party application there can be issues with reports being passed on to the relevant Council department. Reporting issues directly to Sheffield City Council is therefore preferable.