Tips for Making Arcadia University Green

Compiled by Arcadia staff, students, and faculty. Got a tip? Email it to grabuss@arcadia.edu.

• The Dining Hall has started Trayless Tuesdays!  According to the Dining Hall's comment cards, 75% of the responses were in favor of having Trayless Tuesday each week, 10% did not have an opinion and 15% were not in favor of it. Did you know that many colleges and universities have stopped using trays in their cafeterias? The trayless movement is an effort to reduce waste: tray use leads to food waste and extra water is needed to wash the trays. Don't stop with Trayless Tuesdays, look for other ways to stop wasting food and water as well!
• Kick the Styrofoam Habit. Avoid using styrofoam containers from the Chat and Dining Hall, because styrofoam can't be recycled and it doesn't decompose. Try eating in the Dining Hall or bringing your own tupperware to the Chat.
• Use your own cup or mug for water or coffee. Don’t use a new paper or plastic one each time you visit the water cooler or coffee machine. If you must use a disposable cup, choose paper, and then recycle the cup.
• Bring your own utensils for lunch. Stop using plastic spoons and forks, since most of us throw these away after one use, or keep and reuse your plasticware.
• Try to limit the number of napkins you use. Only take the amount you need. If you have extra, store them in your desk or car's glove compartment for a convenient tissue or for spill cleanup.
• Remember to think before you print. Do you really need a hard copy of that document? Today, we can conduct much office and educational activity using information exclusively in electronic form. If you need a hard copy, use the Print Preview functionality to make sure the document looks the way you intended before you print.
• Use recycled paper. If you order print projects or purchase paper, check to see if can use paper with the highest possible recycled content or that is an FSC (Forest Stewardship Certification) paper.
• Use recycling bins appropriately. Get in a habit of placing all waste paper, not trash, in the blue recycling containers provided to Arcadia departments. 

• Turn the lights off in your office and nearby bathrooms when no one is there, even if you leave for only a few minutes. It not only saves energy and money, but might keep that area cooler during the hot days of spring and summer. It is a myth that it saves energy to leave fluorescent lights on for an extended period rather than turning them on and off. Modern fluorescent bulbs use little starting energy as compared to their predecessors and turning them off actually helps them last longer.
• Replace old incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones. The maintenance department at Arcadia can provide your department with a supply of compact fluorescent bulbs. If you use us desk lamps in your office, change out to use these energy-efficient bulbs.
• Activate Power Management features on your computers to save energy, and be sure to turn your computer off at the end of the day. 
• Unplug cell phone and laptop chargers while not in use. Chargers still draw power even while a device is not being charged.

• Car pool. Find out if anyone on campus lives near you so you can car pool. Even one or two days a week of this will save money for you and lower carbon dioxide emissions, so find someone on campus with a similar work schedule.
• Walk, bike, or take public transportation to work whenever possible. SEPTA’s Route 22 bus line stops at the Arcadia University campus and there are bike racks in front of Dilworth Hall, Taylor Hall, and Kuch Center.