Universitas Islam Sultan Agung (UNISSULA) maintains an institutional policy to reduce plastic waste across campus activities, with particular emphasis on reducing single-use plastics, promoting reusable alternatives, and integrating plastic reduction into university procurement and services.

The policy is established through UNISSULA Circular Letter No. 8411/J/SA/IX/2025, dated 10 September 2025. It applies to university units and extends to outsourcing providers, third parties, suppliers in the university supply chain, and providers involved in construction or other contracted work.

Institutional Commitment to Plastic Waste Reduction

UNISSULA recognises that reducing plastic waste requires action before waste is generated.

The university therefore adopts an approach based on:

Reducing plastic use → Avoiding unnecessary single-use plastics → Promoting reusable alternatives → Integrating reduction into procurement → Extending requirements to third parties

This approach addresses plastic waste at its source rather than relying only on waste collection after plastic products have already been used.

Reducing Single-Use Plastics

The first provision of Circular Letter No. 8411/J/SA/IX/2025 requires all university units to reduce the use of plastic, particularly single-use plastic, in:

• Academic activities
• Administrative activities
• Meetings
• Seminars
• Student activities
• University services

This requirement establishes plastic reduction as an institution-wide responsibility rather than an initiative limited to particular events or departments.

The principle is straightforward:

Avoid unnecessary plastic use before plastic waste is generated.

Promoting Reusable Alternatives

Reducing single-use plastics requires practical alternatives.

The policy therefore encourages university units to use reusable products or more environmentally responsible materials.

Examples identified in the Circular Letter include:

• Reusable food containers
• Reusable drink containers
• Refillable bottles
• Reusable bags
• Non-plastic packaging

These alternatives support repeated use and help reduce dependence on disposable plastic products.

Refillable Bottles and Reusable Drink Containers

Bottled beverages and disposable drinking containers can contribute significantly to single-use plastic waste.

The university therefore promotes refillable bottles and reusable drinking containers as practical alternatives.

Encouraging repeated use contributes to a simple waste-prevention hierarchy:

Refill → Reuse → Reduce disposal

This approach places waste prevention before end-of-life waste treatment.

Reusable Food Containers

The same principle applies to food services and university events.

Reusable food containers can reduce the need for disposable plastic packaging associated with meetings, seminars, student activities, and other university events.

The policy therefore encourages units to consider reusable containers whenever practical.

Reusable Bags

Reusable bags are also explicitly included within the policy.

Replacing disposable plastic bags with reusable alternatives can reduce the repeated generation of plastic waste from procurement, distribution, events, and daily campus activities.

Non-Plastic Packaging

Where reusable products are not suitable, UNISSULA encourages the use of alternative materials that reduce dependence on plastic packaging.

The policy therefore creates flexibility while maintaining the overall objective of reducing plastic consumption and plastic waste.

Plastic Reduction in University Procurement

Plastic-waste reduction is incorporated into university procurement and consumption practices.

The policy requires procurement of goods and consumption for university activities to prioritise products with minimal plastic use.

It also calls for single-use plastics to be avoided where more sustainable alternatives are available.

This is important because procurement decisions determine which materials enter the university environment.

The approach can be represented as:

Procurement decision → Lower plastic use → Reduced single-use consumption → Reduced plastic waste

Prevention at the Purchasing Stage

Waste reduction is more effective when considered before purchasing.

By incorporating plastic reduction into procurement, UNISSULA seeks to reduce waste generation at its source.

Units are therefore encouraged to consider:

• Whether plastic packaging is necessary
• Whether reusable products are available
• Whether non-plastic alternatives can be used
• Whether products with lower plastic content can be selected

This moves plastic management upstream from disposal to purchasing decisions.

Application to University Events

The policy applies to university activities such as meetings, seminars, academic activities, and student programmes.

These activities can generate plastic waste through bottled beverages, food packaging, plastic bags, disposable utensils, and other single-use products.

The university’s approach encourages organisers to reduce such materials and replace them with reusable or lower-waste alternatives whenever practical.

Application to Academic and Administrative Activities

Plastic reduction is not limited to ceremonial events.

The Circular Letter explicitly covers both academic and administrative activities, ensuring that routine university operations also contribute to waste reduction.

This campus-wide scope helps make plastic reduction part of normal institutional practice.

Application to Student Activities

Student activities are also explicitly included within the policy.

This extends plastic-waste reduction to student organisations, events, training activities, and other programmes conducted within the university environment.

Student participation is important because sustainable campus practices depend on the involvement of the wider university community.

Application to University Services

The policy also applies to university services.

This allows plastic reduction considerations to extend across operational activities that support students, staff, visitors, and institutional functions.

The broad scope strengthens consistency across the campus.

Extending the Policy to Third Parties

An important feature of UNISSULA’s plastic-reduction policy is that it is not limited to internal university units.

The Circular Letter also applies to:

• Outsourcing service providers
• Other third parties
• Suppliers within the UNISSULA supply chain
• Providers under construction or other work contracts

This requirement extends the university’s environmental expectations beyond direct internal operations.

Plastic Reduction in the Supply Chain

Including suppliers in the policy enables plastic reduction to be considered earlier in the supply chain.

This is particularly relevant where products, packaging, catering, or other services are provided by external organisations.

The approach can therefore be represented as:

Supplier → Procurement → University activity → Consumption → Waste

By reducing plastic at the supplier and procurement stages, the amount of plastic waste generated at the end of the process can also be reduced.

Outsourcing and Service Providers

Outsourced services may operate regularly within the university environment.

Including outsourcing providers within the policy ensures that plastic-reduction expectations remain applicable even when services are delivered by external organisations rather than directly by UNISSULA staff.

This supports a consistent institutional approach.

Construction and Other Contracted Work

The policy also extends to providers involved in construction and other contracted work.

This broadens plastic-reduction responsibility beyond routine food and event consumption.

It demonstrates that plastic reduction is considered across different categories of university operations and contractual relationships.

Waste Prevention before Recycling

The UNISSULA policy prioritises reducing plastic consumption before waste is generated.

This follows a preventive hierarchy:

Reduce → Reuse → Choose alternatives → Manage remaining waste

Reducing plastic at source can decrease the volume requiring collection, segregation, recycling, or final disposal.

Supporting Sustainable Consumption

Plastic reduction is closely connected with responsible consumption.

By encouraging reusable products and procurement with less plastic, the university seeks to reduce unnecessary material use.

This supports a shift from disposable consumption patterns toward repeated use and more sustainable purchasing decisions.

Institutional Scope

Circular Letter No. 8411/J/SA/IX/2025 is addressed to leadership across faculties, bureaus, institutes, technical units, administrative units, and other organisational structures within UNISSULA.

The scope establishes plastic reduction as an institutional responsibility shared across the university.

Policy Adopted in 2025

Circular Letter No. 8411/J/SA/IX/2025 was formally issued on 10 September 2025.

The document was issued on behalf of the Rector by the Vice Rector I of UNISSULA, providing institutional authority for the implementation of the plastic-waste reduction policy.

Evidence of Policy

UNISSULA’s plastic-waste reduction framework includes four principal commitments:

1. Reduction of plastic useAll university units are required to reduce plastic use, particularly single-use plastic, in academic, administrative, meeting, seminar, student, and service activities.
2. Promotion of reusable and lower-impact alternativesUnits are encouraged to use reusable containers, refillable bottles, reusable bags, and non-plastic packaging.
3. Plastic reduction in procurementProcurement and consumption should prioritise products using as little plastic as possible and avoid single-use plastics where sustainable alternatives are available.
4. Extension to suppliers and third partiesThe plastic-reduction requirements also apply to outsourcing providers, third parties, supply-chain suppliers, and providers under construction or other work contracts.