Warwick SU replaces Circuit Laundry at most halls and campus laundrettes

The University of Warwick’s Students’ Union (SU) has replaced Circuit Laundry across most halls of residence and laundrettes.

Contracted until last academic year, Circuit operated most clothes-washing facilities across campus. SU President Ben Newsham promised to replace it during his election campaign earlier in 2019.

In his announcement today, he said that the change followed “a summer of discussion and lobbying the university”, which saw Circuit being replaced by Washpoint.

Card or credits will not be required to use their service, which will reportedly also handle potential machine breakdowns with quicker response times.

Most locations have been replaced by Washpoint except the laundrettes behind the SU building and in some areas of Sherbourne, which will still be operated by Circuit due to to different contract lengths.

Circuit now has an actual incentive to listen to students’ concerns about the service they provide – their monopoly has effectively been broken

– Ben Newsham

“With new competition on their doorstep, however, Circuit now has an actual incentive to listen to students’ concerns about the service they provide – their monopoly has effectively been broken,” Mr Newsham said.

While there is “no guarantee that Washpoint, the new laundry provider, will be amazing”, the president said that he will “continue to gather data on how well the new service is working to ensure this marks a real improvement”.

He continued: “Many of you will have had experience of Circuit Laundry during your time in University halls – and, indeed, many of you will have been left disappointed by a service that has consistently been rated by students as the worst aspect of living in university accommodation.”

Therefore, Washpoint “will hopefully be simpler, more reliable and an all-round more pleasant experience”.

“I, and I’m sure future Officers, will continue the dialogue with Warwick Accommodation to make sure that the experience of doing laundry on campus continues to improve,” Mr Newsham concluded.