Kelly Powers is a first-year Business Management student at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. In this blog, he gives some of his top tips for living an eco-friendly student life.
I’ve had a passion for sustainability and nature since I was young. Growing up in a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, I have been immersed in nature for most of my life. I find it to be a surreal paradise of peace and happiness. Nature is something many people take for granted and are unaware of the mass amounts of damage and irreversible effects that have been imposed on nature from human activities.
We are at a near tipping point where we will see the disastrous effects of climate change and have already seen many effects including the bushfires in Australia, warmest winters ever recorded in some areas, and the polar ice caps melting six times faster than in the 1990s. Being a young person and a student, I find my generation is taking responsibility for changing past habits. We impose sustainable habits on our daily routines to create a positive sustainable world for ourselves and future generations. In this blog, you will find my tips and tricks for living a more sustainable daily life and how to be part of the solution.
Reduce, Reuse Recycle
Every. Single. Day. Many people are unaware of the power these three actions have on our planet. Even though people know how to recycle, convenience is preferred over sustainability. The phrase ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ doesn’t just apply to when you’re at university and you put your paper in the waste paper basket. This phrase is much more than that. It is a way of life. It’s about reducing your single-use plastics, such as cling wrap for a sandwich and plastic bags for crisps or grapes. And make sure you switch to a reusable alternative where possible.
Reducing your single-use items for sustainable alternatives not only makes a big impact on your own personal climate footprint, but makes you feel good about helping the planet as well. It can help sparks a conversation for those around you, such as your fellow students, and inspire them to be more eco-friendly. Some items I use to reduce my single use plastics include my reusable water bottle, reusable collapsible straw, and reusable coffee mug.
