Campus Planning and Maintenance

• If you can, keep control over the heating and cooling of your room. Never leave the window open when the heat or air conditioning is on. Leave your blinds closed when it’s hot outside, so the sun won’t heat up your room.
• If you’re cold, try putting on a sweater and socks before turning up the heat. If you’re warm, try a fan before the air conditioning.
• Take a shower that’s only just as warm as you need it. While a hot shower might be nice once in a while, it takes a lot of energy to heat up that water.
• Take a travel mug with you when you want to take out coffee or other beverages from the dining hall.
• If you need to take food out from the dining hall, make sure you only take as many disposable plates and other goods as you need. Invest in a set of silverware for your room so you don’t have to use disposable ones.
• When eating at the dining hall, take only what you’re sure you’ll eat. If you want more, you can always go back for seconds.
• There’s no need to drive around campus or to the village – walk, bike, or skateboard instead.
• Set your computer monitor to “sleep” when you haven’t used it for a few minutes. This saves a TON of energy!
• Extend the life of computers, cars, bicycles, clothes, and such by taking good care of them.
• Always print double-sided when you can. When you can’t, try to print on paper that’s already been used (old flyers, drafts of papers, etc.).
• Be conscious of what bin you’re throwing your trash in – is it recyclable? All recycling bins on campus now have stickers that tell you what you can and cannot recycle. Pay attention!
• Recycle or refill printer ink cartridges. You can take your used ones to the mail room and ask for an envelope at the window.
• Invest in compact fluorescent bulbs or, better yet, check them out for free through EQC’s CFL program! Contact EQC for more info or keep an eye out for distribution events. CFLs aren’t like normal fluorescent bulbs – your room will look great and feel cozy with a soft light.
• Do you go to the grocery story to buy produce, hummus, bread, flowers, honey, jam, or dried fruit? Try buying these things and much more at Claremont’s weekly Sunday morning farmers’ market in the village. Buying a product direct from the farmer means far less transportation and processing costs (both money and resources, including fossil fuels) and bigger benefit for our local farmers. Besides, you get food that’s fresher and tastier!
• Do laundry only when you have full loads – it saves water, energy, and money!

Working Green at the Office
There are a lot of things you can do in your office to help reduce your environmental impact. Here’s a short list of easy changes you can make:

• Always use non-disposable plates, cups, coffee mugs, and silverware. No more disposable coffee cups! Everyone in the office can have their own mug.
• Use cloth towels and sponges instead of paper towels.
• Avoid buying office products with excessive packaging.
• Bring your scrap paper to Duplicating – they will make it into a notepad for you!
• Always try to completely avoid using polystyrene foam – it NEVER decomposes.
• Recycle your printer ink cartridges, or better yet refill them!
• Turn off lights when you leave your office for more than a few minutes.
• Turn off all office machines and computer equipment when you leave at the end of the day.
• Turn your computer monitor settings to “sleep” when not used for more than a few minutes. This saves a TON of energy!
• Consider having students turn in assignments electronically via email instead of in hard copy.
• Try to edit papers on the computer screen, rather than on paper.
• Always print and copy double-sided.
• Always use recycled paper, and make sure your department is buying recycled as much as possible.
• Make sure your throw recyclable waste into the recycle bin, and make sure non-recyclables never “contaminate” recyclables.
• If you can, walk, bus, bike, or rideshare to campus.