Minimal Waste in College

It's hard being zero-waste in college. Our on campus coffee shops don't allow us to use our own cups, and most of the on campus dining options use plastic utensils. Most of my waste is not plastic- I've been moving away from that all year. It's the paper bowls and bags used by the restaurants. I know it's still not the most sustainable, but I'm trying to make the most eco-friendly choices I can, especially since I have such an expensive meal plan.


Here's what I've been doing to cut down on waste:

1) Reusables

I use reusable shopping bags- one is plastic, because it's one of those thermal bags to keep frozen things frozen- but the rest are canvas. I can usually fit all my month's groceries into one bag, although I try to use two because I usually go to multiple stores. I'm looking to invest in some produce bags though, especially since I buy a lot of onions and they like to shed all over my pantry shelf.

I have stainless steel water bottles and water cups, as well as a Brita. The one filter has lasted my entire suite over a semester. I know it's plastic, but it's definitely not a single use product. I also have two ceramic mugs, one with a lid, one without, that I use for protein shakes, tea, and hot chocolate. I'm versatile like that.

2) Repurpose

I keep as many of my glass jars as I can and clean them out. I use them to hold everything I can. Some of my friends use empty soda bottles (like the vintage label mountain dew ones) as wall decor. The only ones I throw out are the ginger beer ones because the shape makes it difficult to reuse. If anyone has ideas for repurposing them, let me know, because I do drink a lot of them.

3) Refuse

I try to avoid anything with plastic. I stick to cans, loose in cardboard, or loose, but there's a few things, like cereal and that impulse buy of cornbread mix, that have cardboard boxes with the ingredients mixed in a plastic bag. I could understand if it were ingredients that are mixed at a much later stage in baking, but these are all items that don't need the plastic bag in the first place.

4) Recycle

This is my last resort, but it's where my papers and Arbonne products go at the end of their lives. I love selling for a company that cares about carbon neutral shipping and making sure their products are recyclable, but I do wish they would put at least the nutrition in glass. Anything individually wrapped is usually non-recyclable but I try to recycle everything else. I solidly had more recycling than trash last semester, and I'm hoping for the same this one.



The "I really have no way to get rid of this waste" Things

1) Clorox wipes

Yes, I know that there are all-natural all purpose sprays, but when you get strep a LOT and have been around people with the flu, sometimes clorox wipes and a little bit of bleach will keep you healthier.

2) Contact Lenses

Luckily, the bubble casing and the aluminum covers are all recyclable, but I'm running into issues where the specific lenses I had to switch to are not recyclable (or they might just be too expensive to recycle, which is understandable.)

3) Paper Towels

I mostly use these for things like cleaning mirrors and cleaning out the drains, meaning places where I do not want to spend $2.50 to wash and dry a single dishcloth immediately. Although my suite keeps a few dishcloths around, paper towels have proven to be more useful.