It’s getting close to the time of year when students start preparing to hit the books again and get back to school. A ‘green’ education can get you to the top of your class, with eco-friendly and sustainability honors. Start a green lifestyle early in high school and college, and create a sustainable future.
1. Keep the Coffee, Cut the Cup
Use a travel coffee mug instead of a disposable cup.
One cup of coffee purchased every day in a disposable container contributes about 22.75 pounds of waste per year. (Tip: Be committed! A notable amount of energy is consumed in the production of stainless steel coffee cups. One stainless steel cup must be used at least 360 times before it starts saving resources compared to using and recycling a Styrofoam container for that daily “cup of joe.”)
2. Excuse Me, My Pencil is Empty
Use refillable pens and pencils.
Enough wood pencils are made each year to circle the earth 62 times, and pens are often made with PVC plastic, which release dangerous toxins during production. Using a refillable pen or pencil cuts down on the demand for single-use writing instruments.
3. Be the Change
Organize or volunteer in an environmental project in your local community.
Many professors may be willing to give students extra credit for participating in a volunteer project. Talking with campus janitorial services is a great place to start for campus service project ideas. Keep it local so students can walk or bike to the project.
4. Go Trendy
Buy and wear used clothing.
Discarded clothing piles up in landfills at alarming rates. In the UK alone, about 1 million tons of used clothing is discarded each year. Donating and buying used clothes saves landfill space.
5. The Hierarchy of the Three R’s
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, in that order.
Understand the real significance of the Three R’s at a young age. To truly lessen environmental impact, reducing consumption should come first. Reusing items as much as possible, in their original state, should be the second highest priority. And recycling discarded items into other usable forms consumes energy resources, and should be a last resort. However, all Three R’s are way more eco-friendly than tossing everything in the garbage.
