While most people probably know that plastic straws can end up in the nose of an innocent turtle, students may not realize the technology they use every day can also harm the environment.
Thousands of IU students, faculty and staff use electronic devices — soaking up energy every day. Printing allotments allow students to print and reprint to their heart’s content, wasting paper. Old technology is constantly being updated and made obsolete, requiring the University to dispose of it.
All of these practices waste energy and resources. That’s why Sustain IU and University Information Technology Services are encouraging sustainable IT practices.
“Most people don’t hop out of bed at the beginning of the morning and say to themselves ‘Hmm, I wonder how much electricity my computer is going to use today,’” said Noma Maier, UITS Sustainable IT project manager.
Maier is the leader of a team of students, faculty and staff called the Sustainable IT Working Group. She said the group is focused specifically on reducing IU’s energy use and electronic waste and improving the University’s printing practices.
IU requires energy created by burning fossil fuels to charge and use its technology. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide that can be harmful to the environment.
Maier said students should power off and unplug devices they’re not using to reduce the amount of energy they consume.
Reducing IU’s printing and paper use are also part of the group’s initiatives. According to the group’s website, cutting down trees to produce paper contributes to deforestation and erosion, while maintaining printers costs IU money and energy.
“Most pages are used for just a few moments and then they’re tossed in the recycling, hopefully, but more likely, they’re going to be tossed in the trash,” Maier said.
She said students who want to reduce their paper consumption should take advantage of online resources, such as Box or Google Drive, to share and collaborate. Students can also make sure their document is completely edited and formatted before they print so they don’t waste extra paper.
Makayla Bonney, Sustain IU assistant director, said students should properly recycle any electronic devices when they become obsolete.
“Nothing with a cord should go in the trash can ever,” Bonney said.
In Indiana, it’s illegal to throw away electronic devices or e-waste. According to the sustainable IT group’s website, e-waste typically contains heavy metals that are dangerous for the environment, namely lead, mercury and cadmium.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans created 3.09 million tons of e-waste in 2015.
“Most people kind of inherently realize that you shouldn’t throw that in the trash, but they don’t know what to do with it,” Maier said.
IU departments dispose of their e-waste through the University’s Surplus Store, which sells usable technology and recycles useless electronics.
Students can recycle their electronics at the Eco Cell Collection Bin in the IMU a floor down from Starbucks, local stores such as Best Buy and Goodwill and the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District building on Walnut Street.
