Vermin on Campus due to Poorly Managed Waste

Skips have been placed outside halls such as Elvyn and Rigg-Rutt which students have complained about as they are overflowing attracting rats and foxes that are eating from the burst bags. It seems as though the skips haven’t been emptied for weeks, if not months, which could be a health hazard if not rectified. It certainly is not a pleasant sight or smell for university students paying for their accommodation.

Students have told this newspaper that a safety issue has arisen due to broken glass on the walkways though some of the halls and near the Hub. It seems as though the bins in the skips have not been collected since before Christmas. Students that we have spoken to have said they “understand that the skips are useful for Covid reasons”, however, “it is unacceptable that they have been left for so long, and are now attracting vermin”.

The students also raised the issue of the skips and the rubbish that overflows being an “eyesore” and not conducive to a good quality of mental health.

In response to our questions, Loughborough University village manager Linda Moulton has said: “Skips have been put in place in many locations across campus to supplement the waste flow for various halls.”

There seems to be miscommunication among students as “The usual bin system has not been replaced by the skips. However, some residents seem to favour using full skips rather than using the actual bin stores”.

Additionally, Nicholas Hunt, an Environmental Manager, has given us this advice:
“The usual process for emptying the normal bins has been affected by social distancing… students can, of course, help manage the vermin issue by ensuring that waste is placed in the correct receptacles properly and by avoiding dropping litter”.

Therefore, it is evident there has been confusion about the use of the skips and not enough up to keep of actually collecting the bins.

Nevertheless, Moulton goes on to say:

“The use of the skips is monitored and exchanges are booked with the supplier. Unfortunately, we have had some challenges with this which we are working to resolve. We are also monitoring the numbers in the halls as we don’t want to keep the skips in place longer than necessary.”
Hopefully, this issue will be resolved soon with skips now being more regularly emptied, keeping the rats away for good.