Beth Weiner
Contributing Writer
As the weather continues to be dreary, cold, snowy, and students continue to huddle under their covers watching Netflix and eating pizza, it is important to think of the ways we can take action in our residence halls to reduce our environmental impact. It’s a lot easier than one may think, saves money and can even be fun.
1. One of the easiest ways to reduce waste is to avoid using unnecessary paper. One way to do this is to use an automatic hand dryer when washing one’s hands. Not all of the residence hall bathrooms have them, but you can also just hang a hand towel in the bathroom to use. I do it in my suite, and it works great. Just be sure to throw it in the laundry regularly.
2. Print double-sided. This is a no-brainer. When printing out essays and research, make sure the printer is set to print on both sides of the paper. Another thing you can do is avoid printing out notes, handouts and syllabi unless you absolutely need to. It saves you print credits, paper and saves the college money on paper and ink.
3. Save water. Try to take shorter showers to save time and water so you won’t run out of hot water before you get out of the shower. You can also turn off water when brushing your teeth or washing your hands because leaving it running is literally throwing water down the drain and only about 1 percent of the earth’s water is usable.
4. Use a water bottle. Buying and remembering to use a reusable water bottle actually saves money in the long run. If you buy a bottle of water every day for $1.60, then you’re spending $11.20 per week. Think of how much you save if you buy a reusable water bottle for $10-$20. Plus, many of the water fountains on campus have filtered water and include information on how many plastic water bottles have been saved.
5. Turn the lights off when you leave a room. This is probably the easiest thing on this list. It’s a habit you have to cultivate, but realistically, it doesn’t affect you because you’re not in the room using the lights. That’s a lot of energy savings at absolutely no cost to you and all it takes is a simple flick of a switch.
Those are four simple, easy fixes that save an incredible amount of resources. They save a lot of money and anything that saves the College money is good for students. That is because when North Central doesn’t have to spend money on water, paper and energy, there is more money to spend on projects and activities that benefit students directly. It’s a no-brainer. I’d pick those benefits over a plastic bottle any day.
