I know that being a student is difficult. I’m a student too! I have school full-time, a part-time job, have done internships, am involved in multiple clubs, and somehow still try to have a social life. But this doesn’t mean that I’m too busy to be conscious of my decisions and how they affect the planet. We’ve all heard that we need to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” but when was the last time we thought about how it applies to our everyday lives at UCF?
“Reduce” doesn’t necessarily mean you have to completely eliminate things you need from your life. I like to think about it as reducing the unnecessary things! Things I don’t need include:
- Hour long showers every day (although sometimes this sounds amazing) and leaving the lights on all night. Save energy and save yourself a call from mom wondering why the bill is so high.
- To drive a car to campus. If you have the option to, take a shuttle. You’re reducing CO2 emissions, traffic, the gas money you’re spending, and you don’t have to worry about fighting someone for a parking spot. Everybody wins.
- Styrofoam. I just don’t need it, and you most likely don’t either.
- Excess packaging in my groceries. By buying fresh fruits and vegetables, I almost never have to throw away plastic when I grocery shop. Things like grains, candy, flour, and nuts I’m able to buy in bulk using reusable jars or containers. This is almost always cheaper!
“Reuse” is my favorite of these three methods because not only do I like being able lower the amount of trash I produce, I like making the things I own last. As a college student, the initial cost for a few of these items may seem dumb, but this isn’t always the case.
- Reusable cups/mugs, utensils, and straws are incredibly handy. For those of us who plan our days around where the coffee is, try using a reusable cup and count how many you save per month. It starts to add up! Depending on the place, sometimes you can even get a discount for using one.
- Reusable bags. I use these for groceries, clothes, my produce, and whenever I have to lug projects to and from campus. I’ll admit I’ve forget mine before, but I’ve made it a habit to take them with me whenever I know I’m going shopping somewhere.
“Recycle” is probably the easiest of all three. If you’re holding on to some worksheet or bottle you no longer need, keep an eye out for the next recycle bin. There’s plenty on campus, so let’s take advantage of it! We can’t all be perfect and automatically start making changes. It’s a process, but it’s better to be conscious of how much waste we produce and how it’s affecting our world in the long-term scheme of things.