Cheap ways to stay green in your student accommodation
by Liz Roberts - 1st November 2019
Living green can save you money
One of the most annoying things about being a student is accepting that your mum was right about almost everything. When they’re suddenly your bills to pay, putting on an extra layer and making sure lights are off in empty rooms quickly becomes part of your personality – but there’s good news!
As well as saving a few quid on your gas and leccy, you’re saving the planet – so here are some tips to make Greta Thunberg (and your bank balance) proud:
1# Get yourself a bike
A half decent second-hand bike and a good lock will set you back £70-£80 all-in and you will more than get return on that investment.
If you normally take public transport, it’ll pay for itself before Christmas. And if you don’t, you’ll save yourself bucket-loads of time. A 20 minute walk into campus becomes a nippy, 6-7 minute pedal. Think what you could do with that extra half-hour…basically, the possibilities are endless.
2# Recycle
Speaking of endless possibilities, recycling slips under the radar a bit.
Recycling also means we can enjoy this ad from the glory days of TV animation:
We all know it’s good, but it’s been around for ages so it’s a bit forgotten about. But just like Paul Rudd, it’s making a comeback in a big way.
Recyling (and Paul) = still sexy!
It’s almost no effort to chuck your plastic, paper and glass in different bins but it really makes a difference. So, check when your bin day is and get at it! Look at us… who’d have thought?
3# Do the Mum stuff
Close windows, turn appliances off (properly off at the wall, not just standby), wear an extra layer, keep your showers brief, etc.
You’ll wonder when you became so boring but it’s worth it; or that’s what you’ll tell yourself as you put on your third pair of socks.
4# Eat better
Picture the scene: you’re making pasta for the 5th time this week, you want to add anything to it to make it a bit more interesting.
What do you choose? Mince (£6.00 per/kg)? Chicken (£5.00 per/kg)? Mushrooms (£2.50 per/kg)? The numbers speak for themselves, so that’s your bank happy.
Green? You betcha. Unless you’ve spent the last decade under a particularly large rock in a particularly remote part of Siberia, I don’t need to reel off all the stats why veg is better than meat for the environment.
Oh, and also health and animal rights and things – Yay vegetables!
If you really wanna cut down on waste (and make some friends in the process) suggest to your housemates that you all cook up a big batch of that delicious veg together. It’ll be cheaper, more fun and better for the world: win-win-win.
That’s it, really
I’ll end on 4 because it’s important that all listicles have a completely random number of items (42 times Justin Bieber looked like a gummy bear!) but of course there’s plenty more stuff you can just google rather than listening to me rant on about energy saving light bulbs like a demented Al Gore (look him up freshers).
Happy Greening!
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay