CUA doesn’t actually recycle as much as you probably thought. We get a decent amount of things recycled, but as of December 2015, 68 percent of all waste ended up in a landfill.

You may have wondered why display cases started popping up on top of the trash, composting, and recycling containers. It’s because we haven’t been able to get to our green goals.

Pro-tip: look at the display cases to see what can and cannot go in each bin.

This is something that everyone around campus can do. If enough people do it, hopefully, we can start getting more things to recycling plants and composting locations.

Off-Campus

Living off campus is wonderful. There is so much more freedom to make decisions and not be shackled to RA’s or meal plans. You can also get a dog!

So, if you want to help the environment, here are some ways to do it. Many will save money too.

• Turn lights off when you leave a room.
• When showering or brushing teeth, turn the water off until you need to rinse.
• If you don’t have a dishwasher, keep two buckets of water in your sink: one with soapy water to wash, one with clean water to rinse. If you use biodegradable dish soap, use this water to water plants.
• Walk or ride a bike to and from campus ( you won’t get as sweaty as you think, but bring a travel-sized deodorant with you just in case).
• Instead of using plastic baggies for lunch or food, use reusable containers. You don’t even have to buy these. Save your plastic hummus, yogurt, and take-out containers, wash them, and reuse them.
• Compost: you can do this yourself or use a service that’s $25 a month to do it for you.
• Recycle.
• Use the air-conditioning less: at night and early morning when it’s cool outside, open the windows and use a fan. When it’s warmer, close the windows and use the air if it’s too hot.
• Use a reusable water bottle.
• Go vegetarian or vegan.
• Use metal cans from canned veggie as containers or items for DIY projects.
• Use your backpack and/or reusable grocery bags for grocery shopping.
• Use a reusable coffee filter instead of a paper one or disposable k-cups.
• Buy biodegradable cleaning products (Yes, Organic Market has a great selection).
• Keep a bucket in your bathroom to collect the cold water from the shower before it warms up. Use this to water plants or wash dishes.