Back in September 2020, before the academic year started, our committee and hundreds of other students attended the Student Leader Conference run by the SU. It was a week-long event to empower new and existing student leaders with the skills needed to run a society, project or group. This year, volunteer Holly debuted as one of the first students ever to deliver a training session providing a talk on how to introduce sustainability to any student project, with a special focus on those that don’t have a main environmental focus. If you weren’t able to make it to the first one or this week’s SLC, then here’s the content for you.
This training session was requested because student leaders have demonstrated the need for greater education and support in implementing environmentally-conscious practices in student groups. The aim was that by the end, students were equipped with the skills to apply the principles of sustainability to their unique scenario- all projects can be more sustainable regardless of how “eco” related your group is. It introduced core values of sustainability and broke down what environmental sustainability actually means before moving on to discuss what this looks like in a student group and ways that you can still hit your eco-quota in this weird COVID world that we find ourselves in.
Principles of Sustainability:
Source
Take an interest in where things come from. This includes air miles, raw materials, laws and regulations of these materials around the world e.g. palm oil, labour and workers rights. Key questions to ask yourself:
1. Do we need it at all?
2. Can we source this second hand? Can we make it ourselves?
3. Can we source this locally, from a charity shop or from another student group?
Use
Many documentaries, including BBC’s War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita, have kickstarted an anti-plastic revolution, but ultimately, plastic is popular because it is so useful. We need to think about whether single-use plastic is necessary, or if there are accessible alternatives that can use instead, to a) save resources but also b) save money.
Disposal
In the UK, over two thirds of our recycling waste is being exported, mostly to East-Asian countries, because we don’t have the infrastructure here to cope with the amount of waste that we produce. The health and environment of local communities is threatened by plastic floods and the associated pollution. Even though plastic sometimes has a use or cannot be avoided, there’s still a lot we can do to reduce the impact single-use products, services and packaging have on the environment.
1. Is it widely recyclable? To find out what can be recycled in your main bins check out the local council website or RecycleNow.
2. Is there a recycling scheme at the local supermarket or university? RecycleNow also helps with this, but more locally, see the UoM Campus Sustainability Map.
3. Is there a Terracycle scheme for it? At WnW we have many recycling schemes through this company, from bread bags to crisp packets, make up and contact lenses. See TerraCycle for a map of each scheme to find your nearest drop-off point.
4. Is there a charity collecting them? The RNIB collect used stamps, Smalls for All collect second-hand bras, The Ink Bin collects printer cartridges, etc.
5. Do you have an eco-brick on the go? Fill an empty plastic bottle with soft plastic that you cannot dispose of any other way. The density should be around 330g for 1L. See GoBrik for ideas, tutorials and locations that collect.
Mindset
So, it’s all very well if you have your loose leaf tea at home and have reduced your car usage, but you’re a student leader now with influence over your peers - what are you going to do? The largest impact I have made in changing people’s behaviour is by talking to my friends about a joint venture. When we go through each example try to consider the 7 Rs of sustainable living: Rethink Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Refurbish, Repair, Repurpose, Recycle!
It’s about looking at what you can change and changing how you look at things.
Where Next?
Watch: for a full list see our other post Netflix and Save the Planet
Listen: Sustainable(ish) and Sustainababble are my favourites!
Talk: email us, or send us a message on social media! We are more than happy to help you make manageable changes to the environmental sustainability of your student groups.
Next week, we will publish part two focusing on practical tips and advice for society action. In the meantime, feel free to browse the resources above and start the conversation with your society or project committee. What are your society goals this semester or this year? Are you on track to achieve your 2020/21 agenda or do you need a little boost in the sustainability department? As always, we’re here to help, so comment below or get in touch via our Facebook or Instagram!
Author: Holly
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