Ten Ways to Start Living Green!

1. Purchase With Purpose

      Green Circle icon with a piggy bank in the center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Packaging makes up 30-50% of municipal waste.
  • On average, food on the dinner table traveled 400 miles.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Learn about green products and companies.
  2. Look for local food in the dining centers.
  3. Shop locally.

2. Green Your Ride

      Green Circle Icon with a illustration of a person riding a bike in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Burning one gallon of gas emits 20 gallons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
  • Cars consume about 8.2 billion barrels of oil daily.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Walk or ride your bike.
  2. Carpool.
  3. Ride CyRide.

3. Unplug the Unused

       Green Circle Icon with an illustrated electrical plug in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Electronics use 75% of their power in sleep/standby.
  • Small appliances can equal 40% of your electricity bill.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Unplug small appliances after use.
  2. Unplug chargers when devices are finished charging.
  3. Plug electronics into a power strip and turn the strip off when not in use.

4. Make Your Flow Low

      Green Circle Icon with water faucet in the center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Reducing your shower by one minute saves four gallons of water.
  • Fixing a leaky toilet can save up to 1,000 gallons of water (about 16 loads of laundry) a month.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Turn off water for teeth brushing or shaving.
  2. Get cold water from the refrigerator.
  3. Save dish washing and laundry for full loads.

5. Power Down

      

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Sleep mode saves $25-$75 per computer annually.
  • Gaming consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Wii) can cost $250 a year to power.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. When not using your computer or game console, turn it off.
  2. When you do need these items in standby mode, make sure you enable the low power modes. Check out this step-by-step guide.
  3. Avoid using the DVD player on your game console. A stand-alone DVD player uses 24 times less energy.

6. Not Around, Turn It Down

     

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Adjusting your thermostat at night can save 5-10% off your heating bill.
  • Ceiling fans use 90% less energy than a cooling system and lower room temperature 7-10 degrees.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Turn your thermostat down when you are gone.
  2. Get a programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature throughout the day.
  3. Use fans or blankets before changing your thermostat.

7. Green Bag It

Green Circle Icon with Shopping Bag in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Worldwide, more than 500 billion plastic bags are used each year, and only about 1-3% are recycled.
  • The annual plastic bag consumption cost could send nearly 75,000 students to college for 4 years.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION?

  1. Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) to reduce personal disposable bag demand.
  2. Don’t use a bag at all if you don’t need one.
  3. If you need a bag, reuse it.

8. Twist Your Lights

Green Circle Icon with Light bulb in center

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs. 
  • Lights account for 5-10% of energy use.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFLs.
  2. If you live in Frederiksen Court, take advantage of the light bulb exchange program.
  3. Live off-campus? Look into city rebates.

9. Bring Your Own Bottle (or Mug or Cup)

Green Circle Icon with water bottle in center

DID YOU KNOW?

  • The oil used to supply the American demand for bottled water could fuel 100,000 cars per year.
  • Each disposable cup you replace with a personal mug saves 1.25 pounds of CO2 emissions.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Bring your own water bottle or canteen to refill.
  2. Bring your own mug or cup for to-go drinks.
  3. Stores often discount for bringing your own mug. ISU Dining offers a $0.35 discount at all their retail locations.

10. Remember the 4 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink

Green Circle Icon with Recycling logo, three chasing arrows in center.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Recycling one aluminum can conserves enough energy to power a TV for up to three hours.
  • Recycling one plastic bottle conserves enough energy to light a 60-watt light bulb for up to six hours.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

  1. Make use of local recycling programs.
  2. Consider a reuse opportunity such as Goodwill.
  3. Before throwing away, ask yourself: Can it be used again or recycled?