Green living keeps the green in student wallets
By Madelynn Bland —
The University of Louisville is quickly turning into one of the greenest campuses in the country and actually has many ways for students to make easy changes to be more sustainable and save money. One of the most notable ways are the water filling stations seen all around campus. By filling up one reusable bottle at these stations instead of buying disposable plastic bottles, students can save hundreds of dollars a year.
“Bottled water is for suckers. Bring your reusable bottle and refill for free with Louisville’s award-winning tap water. At just one water filling station on the first floor of the SRC, students recently pushed us past one million bottles saved,” Justin Mog, Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives, said.
One million bottles saved means a million bottles less that end up in the ocean and a million bottles that students didn’t have to pay for.
The Belknap Campus also has an organization called the Cardinal Cupboard, which is stocked with food that would otherwise go to waste. Food donations include Starbucks’ bakery items, Einsteins’ bagels, canned food and many other grocery’s brought in from the community. Every trip is completely free for students and faculty, so this is a great way to get groceries at no cost and keep food from being completely wasted. Cardinal Cupboard is located in the SAC, room W314 and is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays.
David Simpson, a sustainability professor, said, “In terms of how students can live sustainably, it’s all about being mindful of the consumer patterns that we all have and grew up with. In the everyday decisions we make there’s opportunities to say ‘Do I really need this?’ and try to figure out if there’s another way to solve this need.” Simpson also suggested checking out the Free Store on campus, which offers access to free clothing, household appliances and school supplies. It’s open to all students, faculty and staff.
By getting things from this store instead of going out and purchasing new items, students are reusing what would have just been wasted and saving their precious money. Students taking full advantage of all these cost saving, sustainable resources are not only saving their money, but are also being eco-conscious.
Source: UofL resources keep the green in student’s wallet (The Louisville Cardinal, Sept. 10, 2019)
