Sustainable living made easy

Sustainable living is usually not the first thing on a student’s mind, but going green is not as difficult as many students would imagine.

“Anyone can see things that are being needlessly squandered in ways that are unnecessary,” said Michael Hamburger, co-chairman of IU’s Campus Sustainability Advisory Board.

Lack of accessibility and ease are among the factors that deter students from persisting with sustainable changes.

Various IU and student organizations recognize this, however, and provide simple services to make sustainability as achievable as possible.

• Recycling containers are strategically placed throughout all of IU’s facilities. This allows students to easily avoid contributing to IU’s 5,000 tons of landfill waste every year.

• Many facilities have signs offering reminders to turn off the lights, a habit that IU’s Energy Challenge website claims accounts for 29 percent of energy use in typical office spaces.

• The double-sided features of IU’s printers have been made more accessible, allowing for less paper consumption.

However, when students step foot into their homes, sustainability becomes a more personal responsibility.

With homework, essays and midterms, the last thing that students are going to be thinking about is something that doesn’t immediately affect them.
Incentives and costs matter, Jacob Bower-Bir, graduate student and Student Sustainability Council co-chairman, said.

“If the costs just barely pass some threshold, (students) are not going to do certain things like recycle,” he said.

Many students are aware of the simple things they can do, such as turning off the lights when they’re done and using less water.

But for things such as heating, cooling and recycling, students may believe that certain things are just out of their control.

For housing without recycling services, Hamburger said students must ask questions. Otherwise, he said, nothing will change. In the meantime, students can find out where their nearest recycling center is and make the effort to sort their trash.

For heating and cooling, IU’s Energy Challenge website recommends setting the thermostat to 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer to keep cost and energy consumption down. It also recommends insulating your house by keeping the blinds closed.

“We could live as well as we’re living without as much waste,” Hamburger said.