Earth Month is here! At TRU, there are so many things you can do on campus to live more sustainably and make a difference to the health of our planet.
Here are 31 easy ways to celebrate Earth Month on campus.
1. Compost food scraps. Tom the composter will gladly take your unwanted fruits and veggies, bread products, grains, meat and fish, eggs and shells, coffee grounds, filters and tea bags.
2. Reuse wood scraps. Wood scraps from student carpentry projects that formerly ended up in the landfill are located in a bin outside the main gates at the back of the building.
3. Use zero-waste stations. Found throughout campus (both indoors and outdoors) to help you dispose of unwanted waste and trash.
4. Use coffee waste stations. Recycle your coffee cups, lids and liquids at coffee waste stations around campus.
5. Bring a reusable mug. Common Grounds offers a 50 cent discount when you bring your own mug!
6. Ditch the bottled water! Bring your own bottle and fill it at water bottle filling stations on campus located here.
7. Ride your bike. Take advantage of sunny Spring days and our bike repair stations on campus.
8. Rent the electric bike. TRU has an electric bike available to rent for free for TRU staff, faculty and students! Email jgordon@tru.ca for rental inquiries.
9. Carpool to campus. Leave your car at home once a week and get a ride with a friend. Sign up for TRU’s Rideshare program.
10. Walk to school. If you live near campus, take advantage of getting your daily exercise and saving time and money on finding parking.
11. Charge your car. If you own an electric vehicle you can charge your car for free at our charging stations.
12. Don’t idle. TRU is an idle free campus. If you will be waiting for more than 30 seconds, turn your car off.
13. Turn the lights off. If you are the last to leave class, turn the lights off.
14. Use natural light. Take advantage of the longer daylight when you’re studying instead of using lights in the classrooms.
15. Turn computers off. When you are finished in the computer lab, shut down the computer.
16. Get involved. TRU offers many opportunities for students to get involved in sustainability including the TRU Eco Club. Explore other clubs and groups here.
17. Eat in. Eat a sit down meal for lunch on campus and reduce amount of cardboard containers in the landfill.
18. Choose vegetarian. Both the Culinary Arts and Terrance cafeteria offer vegetarian options.
19. Have a litter-less lunch. Bring your lunch in a cloth or re-usable lunch bag and pack your lunch in re-usable containers.
20. Create a digital signature. Create a secure signature that can be used to sign TRU forms instead of using paper to print the form. Create one here.
21. Use the F Drive. Before printing out hard copies, consider saving documents and data to TRU’s network storage for students, the F drive.
22. Print double sided. Always print or photocopy on both sides of the page to reduce the amount of paper needed.
23. Unplug. When electronics are finished charging, unplug them. Even when fully charged they are still using energy if plugged in.
24. Join us at Films For Change. The last Wednesday of every month we screen positive and inspiring films related to sustainability at the TRU Alumni Clocktower Theatre.
25. Recycle paper towels. If you only use paper towel in the washroom to dry your hands you can recycle them in the blue mixed recycling bins.
26. Recycle your electronics. Recycle your broken or unwanted electronics on campus filing out this form.
27. Buy sturdy supplies. Purchase sturdy binders and other school supplies that can be re-used again each semester.
28. Buy used textbooks. Buy used textbooks when available and check out eBooks to remove them from your back pack altogether!
29. Recycle your textbooks. Put your unwanted textbooks in the wooden bin outside the TRU bookstore where they will be used by Better World Books in developing countries.
30. Donate food. Bring your unwanted, edible food to campus and donate it to the TRU Student Union Food Bank.
31. Make your TRU event waste-free. Give us a call and we will work with you to try and make your campus event as waste-free as possible.
Would you like to know even more ways you can be sustainable on campus? Check out the TRU Green Guide.
Don’t let your sustainable choices end on campus! The same system to recycle and reduce your waste at home is available through the City of Kamloops. Find out more:
Make every month Earth Month and every day Earth Day. Together we can keep our planet clean for everyone to enjoy.
