Ways to Be Green on a College Campus

Published on Tuesday 21st 2010f December, 2010

Most of us want to make as little negative impact on the environment as we can. That can be easier said than done, though, living on a college campus. Without much control over our surroundings, it can be difficult to feel like you're making any kind of positive impact. There are, however, many ways to be environmentally friendly while living on a college campus, and every little bit helps.

Recycling is one of the most important ways to help protect the environment. Find out the locations of recycling depositories on campus, and always recycle as often as you can. Recycling paper is clean and painless, and you are sure to have quite a bit lying around. It's also easy to recycle glass and aluminum. Just make sure the cans and bottles are fairly clean. This is a great way to get some of those old Coke cans out of your room and be eco-friendly at the same time. If your school doesn’t recycle, try to get a program going.

Even on campus, you can still work to preserve and protect the water supply. Buying a water filter will save you money and also save water. Most students need to buy some kind of water for their dorm room, so you can save resources by using a water filter rather than loads of plastic bottles. You can also protect the water supply by using cleaning supplies that are environmentally friendly, meaning they contain biodegradable ingredients and chemicals that will not taint the water quality. You can find green cleaning products online or at your local supermarket, just be sure to do your research and read the labels.

You can also shift some of your habits in the dorms to save energy. Remember to turn off lights and appliances when they are not in use. Just remembering to do that will save tons of energy. You should also replace your current incandescent light bulbs to a more energy efficient type of bulb, such as CFL or LED bulbs.

Another great way to help the environment is to be thrifty. Rather than always buying new things, you can head to a thrift store and pick up gently used furniture and clothing. This saves natural resources and leaves you with some extra cash. Even if you don't want to buy used things, you can at least donate your old things rather than throwing them away.

You can also make an effort to shop greener. Try to purchase local produce when you can. It uses less natural resources in distribution and tastes better. You can also purchase a small amount of dishes and silverware to wash and re-use, rather than buying paper or plastic. When you do need disposable dishes, try buying things made from recycled material, especially if they are biodegradable. With plastic plates, though, it is still best to recycle if possible, because it takes forever for biodegradable plastics to break down. Either way, just do what you can to help protect the environment, and remember that even small efforts can make a big difference.

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