Hanley Sustainability Institute

By Megan Stoneburner

Trying to live sustainably as a college student can be a struggle. Sustainability has many different aspects that can make it overwhelming for students who want to be involved. By using the resources available through the Hanley Sustainability Institute (HSI) can make it much easier.

Whether it’s becoming a sapling, attending a Path Point event, being a part of the Community Supported Agriculture program, going to a clothing swap or signing up for the Neighborhood Compost Program, HSI has many different ways for students to become more involved in sustainability.

In this blog, I will highlight the ways that a student can live a more zero-waste lifestyle, which is focused around the five R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. Let’s take a look at what these five R’s mean and how a college student can implement the into their lives.

Refuse

This means saying no to things that you don’t need. This is the easiest way to reduce waste. Some ways a college student could do is is by:

• Refusing plastic bags at grocery stores. Instead use a reusable bag to carry your groceries.
• Deciding not to use plastic straws in your drinks.
• Making the decision to eat in the dining halls instead of taking meals to go. This means you will get to use reusable plates and drink containers instead.

Reduce

This means buying less. Focuses on buying things based on quality instead of quantity. Some ways that you could do this in your life is by:

• Investing in a reusable water bottle instead of purchasing plastic bottles every time you are thirsty.
• Buying items secondhand through thrifting stores or book swaps.
• Walking, biking or taking the Flyer instead of driving everywhere.

Reuse

This means you should reuse an item as much as possible before you throw it away. Some ways you could reduce or repurpose are:

• Participating in a clothing swap.
• Turning old jars into cute coffee cups and storage containers.
• Cutting up old towels to make rags out instead of buying wipes at the store.

Recycle

Recycling should be a last resort. With this in mind, it is still important to know the proper recycling techniques. These are:

• Knowing the local recycling rules.
• Checking the recycling symbol on the bottom of the item to ensure that you are sorting them correctly.
• Avoiding contamination by making sure you are washing out your items.

Rot

This refers to diverting organic waste from the landfill through composting. At UD, juniors and seniors living in the north and south student neighborhoods have the ability to participate in the Student Neighborhood Compost Program through HSI’s Zero Waste Team. Here’s how it works:

• Request a compost bin through the form that is sent out at the beginning of each semester.
• Compost what you can, including coffee grounds, egg shells, pizza boxes (shredded), fruit and vegetable scraps, and paper napkins. Just remember, at UD, we do not compost meat or dairy.
• Drop off your compost. When your compost bucket is full, take it to one of the centralized yellow compost toters that are scattered around the student neighborhood.
• Each week, the compost toter is picked up, weighed and dumped into UD’s composting in-vessel. The Zero Waste Team keeps track of the program’s progress throughout the Semester. In the fall of 2024, the Zero Waste Team collected over a thousand pounds from the student neighborhood.

To start to live a Zero Waste lifestyle start small and try to remember what the five R’s have taught you.

As a student at UD, you have the unique opportunity to be involved in the Student Neighborhood Compost Program. You can start to create sustainable habitats that will stick with you after graduation. Implementing this into your life now means you have the support of HSI, and you are making a difference on UD’s campus. The start of the upcoming spring semester is the perfect time to start your zero-waste journey.

Let’s work together to make UD a zero-waste campus one small step at a time.