“Sustainability” is a term we are hearing increasingly often because we are in need of a major change in the way we as a society have been living. You may be asking yourself: “but what can I, a college student, do to help the environment? I like my scalding hot showers and my air-conditioned room. I can’t plant any trees to trap carbon dioxide. I already recycle.” Well, here are 8 tips to help you live a little more sustainably:
1. Reusable = Recommended:
Make a small investment to buy some reusable things to reduce plastic waste. For example, you can easily buy reusable metal or silicone straws on Amazon, at Target, or at Homegoods. If you have a Keurig, buy a reusable K-cup instead of packs of K-cup pods. Bags of coffee are less expensive than K-cup packs, so you can save the planet and save your bank account at the same time!
Tip 1- Reusable items: A bag of coffee is better for the environment and for your wallet than plastic K-cup pods!
2. Drink from the tap:
Drink tap water instead of using bottled water. If you’re worried about the water being impure, you can buy a water pitcher with a filter, or even a filter that goes right on your faucet! When you’re on the go, use reusable water bottles. Some are even given out for free at many college events!
3. Check your trash:
Remember to compost whenever possible, recycle when needed, and throw the rest in the trash. Hopkins is working to reduce the amount of trash by having a “compost” bin, a “recycling” bin and an “incinerate” bin in most places around campus. Make note of all the things you can be composting instead of incinerating, like food waste!
4. Put a hold on the “fast fashion” cycle:
Even if you have a weakness for shopping at fast fashion stores, don’t have the budget to shop sustainably, and don’t feel comfortable thrifting, you can still slow down the fast fashion cycle! Donate the old clothes that you no longer wear. Or, you can give them to a friend or sibling! If you want to make some money, consider selling your old clothes. Apps such as Poshmark and Depop allow you to sell your well-loved clothes and give them a new home.
5. Go paperless!
Change your bank statements to electronic instead of getting paper statements in the mail. This will also help you avoid the hassle of changing the address you want your statements mailed to. For many banks, you can change the way you receive your statement with a few simple clicks.
6. Reduce, REUSE, recycle!
Some of the containers that you may recycle can be washed out and reused. Reuse glass bottles such as vases, mason jars as cups, or even plastic take out containers as pots for your plants. It’s also a cheaper way to have cute décor. Instead of buying overpriced mason jars from a home décor or kitchenware store, wash the coconut oil or pasta sauce out of the jar you have and voilà- a free mason jar!
Tip 6- Reuse: A glass VOSS Water bottle, that we now use as a vase to brighten up our tiny table.
Tip 6- Reuse: My roommate used a plastic takeout container to re-pot one of her succulents!
7. Did you see my bag?
Use reusable bags when going grocery shopping. Some places (like Whole Foods and Target) will give you a small discount for every bag you bring from home instead of wasting more plastic or paper. And if you forget your bags, remember to use paper over plastic!
8. Popping champagne? Save the cork!
This tip is for the 21+ readers out there. There is a Canadian-founded program called ReCORK that recycles corks from wine bottles to make products such as sandals and yoga blocks! Although they are based online, they partner with stores all around North America to collect corks, and one of those collection is sites right here in Baltimore! Bin 604 Win Sellers, which is a little over 3 miles away from campus is one of the designated drop-off locations for used corks.
Tip 8- ReCORK: These wine corks can be recycled into shoes!
Let’s save the planet little by little.