Bee Sustainable: How to make student life eco-friendly (and save money, too)
Written by Julia Gralki. Photo Courtesy of Envato Elements.
Whether you are just starting out at SCAD or you have some years of dorm life experience under your belt – we all should do our part to make our lives more sustainable. Here are 12 tips for transforming your room into an eco-dorm.
- Get a reusable water bottle: More than 50 billion water bottles are sold in the U.S. annually. By getting a reusable water bottle, you can save on average 156 plastic water bottles per year. That way, you always have your water with you, because if you ever run out of water in class, you can fill up your bottle at one of the water fountains located in every academic building.
- Get a tote bag for grocery shopping. Plastic bags can’t be recycled. Plus, they take about 1,000 years to decompose on a landfill. That’s why you should ditch the plastic bags at the grocery store and bring reusable bags.
- Avoid single-use food containers. Instead of getting take-out food in plastic containers, opt for dine-in. If take-out is unavoidable, make sure to bring your own containers and utensils.
- Thrift your clothes. Thrifting is already popular at SCAD, but I’m just adding this paragraph to spill some facts about the fast fashion industry: 20% of global water waste and 20-35% of ocean microplastics are caused by fast fashion.
- Clean green. Choosing cleaning products made from natural ingredients aren’t only better for your health but also for the environment. Brands like Common Good, Ecos or Puracy clean your dorm (or home) just as effectively as conventional cleaning products.
- Clean with washable cloths. Speaking of cleaning, let’s add washable cloths to your shopping list for eco-friendly cleaning stuff. Just hand-wash the cloths or pop them in the laundry machine after cleaning.
- Only print what you need. Paper makes up about a quarter of all landfill waste, which is responsible for methane emissions that are even more potent than carbon dioxide emissions. If we could reduce paper use by 10%, the U.S. would save about 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases.
- Unplug your electronics at night. This doesn’t only give your phone a longer lifespan but also saves energy (and money).
- Turn off the lights. If you’re not already doing this, turning off the lights when you don’t need them has the potential to turn into a green habit. All you need to do is flip the switch.
- Use the recycling bins in your residence hall. The recycling bins can be confusing, but here’s what you need to know: Recycle only paper, cardboard, aluminum cans and empty plastic bottles. Do not recycle food waste, plastic bags and personal protective equipment like face masks. You can read more about recycling in our guide about recycling at SCAD.
- Buy second-hand school supplies. We all know that art supplies can be expensive at SCAD. To change that, you can buy second-hand materials at local stores in Savannah. The best part: It also helps the environment.
- Buy local food. Farmer’s markets aren’t just more sustainable, they are also more fun than grocery stores. Nothing beats a morning walk across the Forsyth farmer’s market on Saturdays.
