As a student, here are plenty of small things you can do to help the environment. Here are 10 simple ideas.
What ecofriendly things can a college student do to help the environment? More than you might think, actually. The typical student's lifestyle can lead to quite a bit of waste, especially paper, so small steps to conserve and recycle can really add up! Here are 10 environmentally friendly tips from Kandank Ilmu for a greener student life.
- Recycle Everything, Especially Paper! Think about how many pieces of paper you go through in a semester. There's your class notes, your scrap copies, your term papers, your daily school newspapers, and assorted stuff that you've printed out from the Internet... it all adds up. Look for a paper recycle bin on campus-- you might find one near a dormitory or large classroom building. And recycle other items as well, including cans, bottles, and cardboard boxes.
- Walk or Ride Your Bike and Limit Your Use of a Car. If you have to go somewhere close consider riding your bike or walking there instead of your car. It's better on the environment and healthier. Ask yourself if you really need a car as a college student, because if you can get by without one, you can save a good deal of money on gas, repairs, and overpriced student car insurance. If you do own a car, try to use it as little as you can.
- Buy Green. Buy recycled products whenever you can, especially paper. Buy environmentally safe cleaning products as well. Some of these products cost more-- but many don't, or the price difference is negligible.
- Use Your Printer Wisely. You can save paper by printing on both sides of the page. Many lecturers don't mind if you turn in a paper like this-- just ask first. Save pages that you've printed and use the backs to print out drafts and other things you don't have to turn in. In addition, many printers have multiple settings for print quality. Use the high quality print setting for things that have to look nice, but use the low quality setting for things that don't. This will save ink. While you're at, consider cutting down on the things your print out. Do you really need to print out that web page, or can you just bookmark it?
- Start a Blog or Website. Through a blog or website, you can get homework help, submit discussion questions, and play with interactive study guides, all of which save paper.
- Use Refillable Binders Instead of Notebooks. This is a simple way to save waste. If you want to save your notes after the semester is over, take them out of the binder and staple them. Or you can go electronic and take all of your notes on a laptop.
- Use recycled paper: All teachers go through a ton of notebooks and papers each year, so using recycled paper and then recycling all your files after the year is over will positively impact the environment.
- Use PowerPoint: Start creating PowerPoint presentations to deliver notes, photos and study guides without wasting paper.
- Join the Group. Join the courses group such as ESDAL, KEBEKIN and others. Most of them provide soft copy for your courses. So, no more hard copies just soft copies.
- E-mail other teachers and administration: If your school hasn’t already, try to start an e-mail only campaign that eliminates needing hard copies of substitute requests, field trip proposals and meeting RSVPs.
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