Make it circular!

Moving towards a circular economy at university whilst enhancing water usage, biodiversity, protecting the environment and raising awareness.

The aim of the project is to move towards a circular economy at university whilst enhancing the water usage, the biodiversity, protecting the environment and educating people about nature and sustainability. This project, though ambitious, can also be done in its different discrete phases depending on each university’s resources. Microplastics are a major health and environmental problem that can be found everywhere, even in the air we breathe. First, in order to reduce them, a filter system could be implanted in the building’s rain gutters to recover them from the air when it rains. These microplastics could be studied or reused in different ways, whilst the resulting microplastic-free water could be stored at the university’s facilities. Secondly, having green spaces at university has many advantages for both the environment and the public health. Thus, a garden could be created by a university association and use the microplastic-free water stored to water the plants in drought seasons. Though it may not be enough, it would certainly contribute to the reduction of the amount of water needed. Also, these green spaces could become a great spot for enhancing biodiversity by growing local plants (more interestingly local vegetables that could be used at the canteen) and establishing insect hotels. Informative panels could be built explaining its importance to educate other students or regular people on these topics. Finally, to close the circle completely, the garden could be maintained using the university’s organic waste as compost. Some universities’ campuses are divided in different buildings around the city. Therefore, the development of green areas could potentially create more habitat interactions between species allowing for an increase in biodiversity and a higher connectivity within populations.

This project involves the university’s buildings, as well as green spaces inside or around it. In our faculty’s case (University of Barcelona, Faculty of Biology) there is enough space to create a garden inside its grounds, but other faculties might need to find a specific spot outside it.

Essentials: filter (15€), 300L or 1000L water tank (175€ or 250€), seeds (15€) and some garden utensils (100€ or donated). Others (optional): Insect hotel (20€), informative panels (200€), 300 L composter (50€). All in all it would be around 600€ starting from zero, but it is likely that some of these items are already available at universities. Also, it should be taken into account the fact that it would be mainly a one time inversion, as only the filters would need to be replaced more frequently.

This project could still be carried out during COVID-19 restrictions, as the water could still be recovered and the biodiversity enhanced. Volunteers could take care of the garden, always keeping the safety distance.