10 Ways Students Can Save Our Planet

If you’ve ever wondered ‘what can I do to save the planet?’ then you’ve come to the right place. As you enter university life, you’ll have a whole host of decisions to make, many of which impact the environment. Here, we offer some tips on how to be more eco friendly.

The below ideas could help you to become a more sustainable student. They’re all small, easy to make changes that you won’t find too hard to fit into everyday life.

Use reusable bags

Top of the list is something that will not only save you money but save the environment too. Since late 2015, retailers have been charging a minimum of 5p per plastic bag used in their stores. There are very few exceptions, and with some retailers charging 10p for ‘better quality’ bags, keeping a stash of reusable bags for your shopping will certainly save you money while being kinder for the environment too.

Shop locally

If you’re asking yourself ‘what can I do to save the planet?’, you might want to take a look at what’s on your plate. Food miles are all about how far food products have travelled before they get to your plate. Many independent local retailers would value your business and when it comes to food, shopping and buying local produce is a great move when it comes to how to be more eco-friendly. Many locally sourced food products can also be better quality too.

Ditch products in excessive or plastic packaging

Why not shop at the greengrocers rather than buy pre-packed fruit and vegetables in plastic? And take note of the packaging that other products come in too? There is so much variety on the shelves these days that as the consumer, you have a lot of power in ditching brands that still use too much packaging and materials that can’t be recycled.

Cut down on what you can’t recycle

As well as ditching what you can’t recycle you could also cut down on materials that are hard to recycle. Just because you put something in the recycling bin, this doesn’t mean it can be recycled. Some coloured plastics, for example, are made from compounds that are still difficult to extract and recycle. And that means it ends up in landfill.