How U of A dorm students practice sustainability
By Antonio Arellano, Issac Marrufo and Croydon Rask
University of Arizona — As global concerns of climate change continue to rise, various methods are being implemented to slow the degradation of our ecosystem. Students living in the dorms at the U of A are helping our environment by participating in competitions to recycle, reduce water consumption and limit energy use.
The Housing and Residential Life department hired a full-time coordinator to create and promote eco-friendly activities and education in student housing buildings. Jill Burchell, the senior coordinator of sustainability programs and campaigns, helps to organize some of the activities that help encourage students to use sustainable practices.
One activity is a utility reduction competition between dorms called “Less is More,” where students pledge to use less water and energy. Staff members provide sustainability advice to students, and the dorms with the most pledges and utility savings by the end of the spring semester win.
This initiative aims to promote environmental conservation and encourage students to make online commitments to protect the environment. Easy ways for students and others to decrease their impact on the environment is to wash only full loads of laundry, only run the dishwasher when it is full, turn off the water while rubbing your hands with soap and much more.
Less is More has proven to significantly aid in efforts to reduce utility consumption, Burchell said.
“Our total energy saved across all buildings was down 12.65 percent and our water was down 5.6 percent. Our building with the highest energy and water saved had 73% of the building signed the pledge to reduce. Over 300 students,” she said.
Beyond Less Is More, Arizona students residing in dormitories join a residential curriculum called Wildcat Living Residential Curriculum. Students thrive by developing life skills and discovering their place in the world, and it facilitates their transfer to college. Their mission correlates directly with their sustainability efforts through another activity called “Bin It To Win It,” a competition to encourage recycling among all students.
Each dorm is able to earn points by recycling, engagement and watching videos — all separate ways to increase awareness and help increase recycling efforts. Items like paper, cardboard, dry cans and plastic bottles are all items that should be recycled. Items like plastic bags, paper bags and even pizza boxes, despite common belief, are not recyclable items and should be disposed of in the proper places.
This program has also proven to be successful, which is why it’s implemented every year, Burchell said.
“From the beginning to the end of October 2023, ‘Bin It To Win It’ helped our recycling efforts,” she said. “Dorm contamination rates decreased by 27 percent, 284 sustainability and engagement events and programs hosted in the dorms, and 25 different educational videos with 750 likes on Instagram.”
Programs like these are so successful because they address problems like climate change that affect people around the world. Rather than focusing on individuals, the program is aimed at a community of people who want to see the betterment of the world.
“Sustainability starts within the individual. The individual has to want to see sustainability thrive. Gradually, the more people that recognize the effort, the more the sustainability will dynamically grow. Throughout the U of A community, throughout Tucson, throughout every county in Arizona,” said Eduardo, a current Ph.D. student in bio-economic engineering.
