February 11, 2020, by Agnes
Friendly Hacks for Sustainable Student Living
Hello! A few weeks ago I wrote about the top 5 places to find tasty veggie food on campus, and today I’m coming to you with more sustainable student content! In honour of Go Green Week, I’m going to share with you my ‘life hacks’ for sustainable student living on a budget. In this post I will be focusing on lifestyle choices outside of your diet; so if you can’t, or just don’t want to, switch your diet to a more plant-based one, but still want to do your bit for the planet – this is just the post for you.
Cut down on single-use plastics!
This is a big one… 18 metric tons of plastic trash winds up in our oceans each year and the five most common items found in coastal cleanups are all single-use plastics:
Cigarette butts
We all know that smoking is bad for your health, your wallet and the planet – so there’s not much to say about this one. Do the Earth a favour and ditch the cigarettes!
Food wrappers
Food wrappers are difficult to avoid because going into any supermarket it seems like everything is packaged in plastics! However, there are still some things you can do to reduce your plastic consumption when food shopping; bring a reusable bag for loose fruits and veggies, (you can find them in most big supermarkets for just a few pence!) choose products without excess packaging and always bring reusable shopping bags.
Beverage bottles and bottle caps
Reusable water bottles and coffee cups are really popular because they’re a big money saver (refilling your water bottle is free!) especially since bringing your own cup to any café on campus gets you 25p off your drink. If you still don’t have one, have a look around your local charity shops – there are many unused travel cups on sale for pennies!
Straws
We’ve been hearing about this one a lot. If you’re known for your love of iced coffees, smoothies, or (like me) bubble tea – invest in some reusable straws! You can find them in all colours of the rainbow and thicknesses to match any drink. Metal straws, bamboo straws and even silicone are better than that plastic straw you’ll throw away as soon as you finish your drink.
I hope you’re feeling inspired and ready to join the fight for our planet! If you liked this post, check out my last one here.
Have a lovely week!
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