I have grown up in an environmentally friendly household. My family makes it a habit to recycle everything and use alternative products so we don't create unnecessary waste. I really want to make an effort to continue my environmentally-friendly practices in college and to give others some ideas about how to start some of these practices. Here are a few convenient ways you can create less waste in the world as a college student.
1. Bring your own metal or glass water bottles.
Bringing a reusable water bottle is super convenient and is necessary to maintain proper hydration. Not only is it annoying to have to carry around a plastic bottle that can be crushed in your backpack accidentally, you will have to eventually throw it away, therefore creating more waste. The alternative is bringing a metal or glass water bottle with you to college. The reason why I specify using non-plastic water bottles is that plastics contain an industrial chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA. This chemical is used to make some types of plastics and can seep into food and water and can change the brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children. Even though college students are technically not children anymore, it is generally a good idea to steer clear of plastics that contain BPA. Stainless steel water bottles such as Klean Kanteen or glass water bottles like Takeya are the safest alternative for water bottles.
2. Use environmentally friendly toothbrushes and razors.
One change that my family made was instead of using toothbrushes and razors that we threw out every couple months, we started using the brand Preserve. Preserve toothbrushes are made with 100% recycled materials and when you need to replace the toothbrush, all you have to do is put it in the wrapping that came with it, and send it in the mail to the company headquarters where they recycle it for you. The way the razors work is you keep the razor handle and just buy packs of razor heads. This helps save waste by not having to throw out the entire razor when the razor head is rusted and dull. These two alternative ways are at no inconvenience to you and they use much less waste than conventional toothbrush and razor brands.
3. Use environmentally friendly light bulbs in your dorm room.
If you bring a lamp or two to college, you should really consider switching out your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) or LED bulbs. This will be a bang for your buck, save the college a lot of money on energy, and rid the guilty feeling of using too much energy when staying up for all-nighters. In this day and age, it is hard to find incandescent bulbs that Americans use the most, so your best best is getting a CFL bulb. CFLs cost a bit more than traditional incandescent bulbs ($6-11), but use a quarter of the energy and last 10x more than incandescent bulbs. Although CFLs are a great way to reduce energy consumption, if you are willing to pay extra, LED bulbs are the better light bulb investment. LEDs use 15% of the energy of an incandescent bulb and last 25x longer. They are pricier ($16-35) but last way longer and eventually pay themselves off.
4. Invest in a whiteboard.
Call me crazy, but I tend to use a lot more paper for brainstorming than I really should. When you're in college you will have a lot of brainstorming sessions for essays or projects that you will write on paper and eventually scrap. Why waste all that paper when you can just write your ideas out on a whiteboard and erase when necessary? It will make your dorm less cluttered and also waste less paper.
5. Avoid non-stick pans.
While this does not necessarily save waste, it is a healthier alternative to cooking if you are living off campus or use a dorm kitchen. Non-stick pans are manufactured with perfluorinated chemicals or PFCs which makes the pans stain, grease and water resistant. When the pan is heated, the PFCs break down into perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA and release toxic gases into the air. These gases are carcinogens and have been shown to cause cancer in animal studies. So instead of using non-stick pans, you can use ceramic pans (Cuisinart), stainless steel pans (Calphalon), or cast iron pans (Lodge or Le Creuset). They are a bit costly, but a good investment to protect your health.
