What You Can Do
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of disposable products you use, and in turn reduce the trash you generate. This can be accomplished easily through many, simple, conscious actions like using less paper towels in the bathroom, telling the staff at Subway that you do not need your sandwich in a plastic bag, or taking one napkin in the cafeteria instead of two. If each person does a little, we will have a huge impact on our stewardship of our earth.
Individual Responsibility
- Ask yourself "Do I NEED it?" (i.e. the lights on, surplus office supplies, designer stationary)
- Have staff give up unused, duplicated, or seldom used office supplies rather than purchase new
- Pack waste-free lunches with reusable containers (including thermos instead of single use can, bottle, or carton for beverages)
- Minimize transportation to meetings with video conferencing
- Carpool when possible
- Use back-side of single-side used paper for scratch paper
When on campus look for our recycling centers. We even accept materials from your home! In several cases the reward goes beyond just the campus community! USF has teemed up with Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, and HEADS UP Foundation on recycling efforts:
- plastic bottles, glass bottles, paper, and cardboard
- aluminum cans to be recycled through Habitat for Humanity, an organization working at a grass-roots level to eliminate poverty housing.
- aluminum can tabs for Ronald McDonald House, a home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill or injured children hospitalized in the Indianapolis area.
- ink cartridges and toners recycled with proceeds to HEADS UP Foundation, an organization that will enhance the research and patient care activities of the craniofacial Anomalies Teanmjames Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.
- Direct used fluorescent lamps and used batteries to USF Security for proper recycling
Save fuel! Protect air quality! Minimize commuting via automobile; bicycle when possible! USF is purchasing more bicycle racks at the request of the students! Consider Citilink public transportation as well.
Keep campus clean! University grounds crew spends hours a day picking up litter on campus that not only makes campus unattractive, but could otherwise harm Mirror Lake or the "critters" that share our property!
Be involved in "green" events on campus such as Earth Day and Arbor Day activities.
Let your voice be heard! Do you have ideas on sustainability for our campus or know of environmental concerns that should be addressed? Contact us through the Your Ideas/Get Involved link or speak to SAC, SGA or RHA for help in advocating your recommendations.
What you can do off campus:
- Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
- Turn off and unplug electrical devices. Many electrical devices draw power even when they're off.
- Take shorter showers.
- Don't preheat your oven. This is a waste of heat, and is rarely needed. If you're making anything from a casserole to a frozen pizza, you don't need to preheat your oven.
- If you need to warm up small amounts of food, use the microwave. It is much more energy efficient than an oven.
- Check your tire pressure on a weekly basis.
- Avoid aggressive driving which wastes fuel.
- Avoid open burning and limit the use of wood burning fireplaces to special occasions.
- Lock windows, they are designed to operate more efficiently that way.
It's easy to become more environmentally friendly. Below are a few tips you can do right at home.
- Replace incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps to save energy.
- Plan your trips
- Walk, bike, or ride a bus
- Weather seal your home or apartment
- Install low flow shower heads
- Manage window coverings
- Replace old appliances with Energy Star rated ones
- Close curtains/drapes or blinds. They reduce heat loss in the winter or heat gain in the summer.
- Invest in a programmable thermostat or adjust the thermostat when you leave the house to prevent over heating/cooling an empty home.
- Empty your vehicles trunk to reduce the weight of the car and save fuel.
