Going to university can be so exciting, all the new friends, late nights and so much to learn! But have you ever considered the waste that freshers actually produces? Here’s a quick guide to all the things you can do to minimise your climate impact whilst maximising your university impact!
- You will always find us in the kitchen at parties:
Take sustainable Kitchenware!
So, let’s make sure you can maintain a sustainable kitchen cupboard to cut down on those bin trips across campus!
Try collecting good quality reusable produce bags and beeswax wraps to really reduce the plastic and foil waste. By using reusable produce bags at the supermarket, you can massively reduce the plastic wrap that comes in the bulk bags of veg and fruit! (Don’t forget your sustainable tote bags too!)
Buy a good quality pan with a lid! The amount of batch meals you can cook and stick in the freezer to save you precious revising time is invaluable. Plus, stovetop cooked meals are far more energy efficient than full fan ovens!
Get reusable drinks and lunch containers! A good metal water bottle can save thousands of plastic bottles of water over its lifetime! Sometimes you don’t even need to buy too many containers, overnight oats in a lecture from a mason jar? Totally aesthetic and very sustainable (know one needs to know it was full of strawberry jam your mum gave you last month…).
2. Deck out your bathroom with zero waste products:
Who said hygiene had to suffer in the halls shared showers!
Swap out the plastic bottle shampoos and shower gels for soap, shampoo and conditioner bars, all kept safe from that guy down the hall in your metal tins and shower caddy!
Plastic razors are flimsy and never give you the precision you were hoping for when experimenting with eyebrow slits right? Reusable razors that you replace the head on are so much more impressive to your new mates.
And don’t worry, natural deodorants and zero waste toothpaste tablets will keep you smelling fresh as a daisy when your crush from the next flat over comes over for that society social.
3. Study all day and Party all night:
Considered how your pencil case and stationery affects the planet? No? What about your fancy dress for that sports night theme?
By day we are all about the refill, recycled paper pads, recycled pens/pencils and good quality long lasting backpacks to carry all of our lecture notes.
By night we like to get creative, using our flare to create themed costumes. Think DIY instead of buying that amazon plastic readymade costume that definitely will go up in flames when our bestie spills their flaming sambuca on us!
And let’s not even start on the late night coffees in the library! An insulated coffee cup not only saves waste, but it also keeps that vanilla oat latte hot for hours! If you’re starting University in Birmingham why not check out Brummie cup?
Sustainable AND it saves precious space in your bag for those heavy library books!
4. Keeping it Clean:
Halls can get a bit grubby we know, but what you clean with can really make a big difference.
We love the eco-friendly cleaning products you can get these days like the refillable dish soap and bathroom sprays, as well as the capsule detergents for keeping your high school leaving hoody fresh.
Reducing plastic packaging by searching for the refillable tablets can save you those overflowing bins that lead to campus maintenance getting on your back!
Overall, have fun at university if you’re starting this year. Enjoy the joys of fresher’s guilt free with these sustainable must-haves! You can find these items and more from businesses featured by us including: Vesta living, The Clean Kilo, G.A.S and many more!