Sustainability in College

The hype for the next big water bottle is not only exhausting, but it also defeats the whole purpose of sustainability. There is no need to run and get the latest Owala or Stanley; one reusable water bottle is all you truly need. If you are genuinely interested in sustainability and supporting brands that care about the environment,I would suggest a Klean Kanteen bottle. They are a B Corp company that emphasizes non-toxic, durable, and insulated bottles made from recycled materials.

9 Eco-Friendly And Sustainable Water Bottles For 2026 – The Good Trade

As college students, we have busy lifestyles, resulting in purchasing breakfast items from fast food restaurants or even skipping breakfast. However, not only is this unhealthy, but it is actually unsustainable. The accumulated packaging that your beloved breakfast tacos and breakfast sandwiches come wrapped in is more likely to be aluminum foil, which takes 200-500 years to fully decompose. One of the ways that you can be sustainable is by meal prepping your breakfast. Below, I have attached a recipe on how to make a gut-healthy breakfast meal that reduces food waste and saves you money in the long run.

Easy Overnight Oats Recipe

Electric scooters are not only scary vehicles for students to ride around campus,but they are also unsustainable. Riding your bike is the way to go green. Riding your bike to class is not only sustainable but also a good leg workout. In fact, leisure cycling has a MET value of 4, which is more than walking at a 15 min/mile pace for one hour. If you are still not convinced to use this alternative resource,there is an app that actually pays you weekly to ride your bike instead of driving called Carbon Cred.

METs.pdf

How Austinites can earn cash for carpooling, using mass transit | KXAN Austin

You are not collegemaxxing if you have not utilized the UT Outpost. This is a resource that not many students are aware of, which provides students with FREE groceries and gently used professional clothing. Supporting these resources is key to ensuring that resources are correctly distributed to those who need them and reducing food waste. The outpost can be found on 2609 University Avenue, Suite 3.108, Austin, Texas 78712, and its new location, the SSB Found Floor.

https://www.instagram.com/utoutpost

For students who smoke, it is recommended to give up smoking; however, this is no simple task. A reasonable and attainable way that you can still be sustainable is to properly discard cigarette buds. Now I do understand that it is customary to just drop the bud on the floor, but this action is harmful to the environment. The buds contain toxic chemicals such as synthetic plant growth regulators and pesticides that pollute water bodies and endanger wildlife.