Need a Few Tips To Get Started?
On Campus
1. Continue to recycle bottles and cans—it would be helpful if everyone would empty their bottles and cans before putting them in the recycling. At NEC, all recycling is handled entirely by volunteers so it requires quite a few people to monitor the bins. While the EAC appreciates the offer to share your unfinished soda, it makes for quite a sticky situation when sorting recyclables. All of the containers have to be emptied before they can be sent off campus to be recycled. It would also help a great deal if wrappers and other items were not stuffed into bottles before putting them in the recycling, as these materials must be removed as well before the bottle can be recycled!
2. Turn off lights in rooms if you are the last person to leave, and unplug electric appliances (including cell phone chargers) when not in use.
3. Respect your environment by picking up trash and litter—this issue has been such a growing problem that several clubs and teams have become involved in cleaning up the campus. Though their efforts have made a huge difference, we still have to work on litter prevention!
4. Use cigarette receptacles instead of leaving them on the ground.
5. Enjoy the campus by walking or biking rather than driving when possible.
6. Try not to use a tray in the dining hall—the amount of food that is left uneaten on plates is enormous! This may seem inconvenient, but campuses that have gone tray-less in their dining halls have been remarkably successful in cutting back on what gets thrown out. We can compost excess food from the preparation side of things, but once it's on the plates it has to be thrown out.
7. Print on both sides of the paper in the computer labs and recycle waste paper whenever possible. (There are paper-recycling bins in the Science Building, Library, CEI, Spaulding and the Simon Center!)
8. Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water. Bottled water is no better, and in many cases, not as safe as tap. BYO water bottles!!! The same goes for coffee cups… bring your own! Do you get at least one cup of coffee every day? Multiply that by 1000 students, every day… (Who doesn’t drink coffee?) Very little effort goes a long, long way!!!
9. Make an effort to thank the custodial staff, the buildings and grounds staff, and Campus Facilities for their hard work. We often don't realize that they are working behind the scenes to keep the campus safe and running. NEC's efforts to become a more sustainable campus would not be possible without the commitment of all of the staff!
10. Realize that we are more than 1000 strong here at NEC, and that we have an incredible opportunity to be engaged in an exciting transformation—not only of our campus, but also of our collective conscious. Each individual can make a difference!
