Green Living Tips
Treading softly on the environment can be as simple as picking up a few good habits—and there are dozens of groups across campus and the city that would like to help. Take a browse through our listings and you'll find ways to get involved in developing a more sustainable campus, yourself.
On Campus
Recycle
Beverage containers (aluminum cans, juice boxes, milk cartons, and plastic and glass bottles): There are bins in the Students' Union Building, where the recycling station is west of the food court and across from InfoLink and Ticketmaster.
Batteries and old cell phones can be dropped off at Sustain SU recycling boxes, which are at InfoLink booths in SUB, CAB, HUB, and ETLC. Sustain SU collects used batteries and delivers them to ECO stations for processing. This prevents the batteries from leaching harmful heavy metals into our ground water while they sit and corrode in landfills.
Ink/laserjet cartridges can be dropped off in Sustain SU recycling boxes at InfoLink booths, at the University Bookstore on the lower level of SUB, and at SUBprint on the lower level of SUB.
Egg cartons are accepted by the Campus Food Bank, whether styrofoam or cardboard, where they are cleaned and reused in deliveries to clients. There is also a large blue bin by the HUB Mall truck delivery area for regular household recyclables.
Compost
Created during the spring of 2003, the Campus Community Garden is an organic garden and Sustain SU initiative located on the north side of 89th avenue, between 110th and 111th street—a few blocks from the University. Feel free to drop off organic waste in one of our composts in the back.
Leftover food scraps and compostable containers may be composted in the SUB foodcourt.
Commute
Biking is a great way to get around: it's fast, it's easy, and it keeps you in shape—and it's environmentally friendly, too. Don't have a bike? You can borrow one from the Sustain SU bike library.
With a U-Pass you will have unlimited access to regular Edmonton, St. Albert and Strathacona County Transit services for the Fall (September to December) and Winter (January to April) academic terms. The U-Pass is a partnership between the University, the Students' Union, the Graduate Students' Association and the three participating municipalities. Students overwhelmingly approved the program and fee through referenda held in the Winter term of 2007.
Carpooling - the Office of Sustainability offers information on their Campus Sustainability Initiatives page for getting to school or work the more sustainable way. Visit this page for information on car sharing, carpooling, and the campus vehicle fleet.
Donate
Non-perishable food, toiletries and donations can be brought to the Campus Food Bank office, 040-J on the lower floor of SUB. After-hours donations may be left in the drop-off bin located outside the office.
Your spare time is in demand, too! InfoLink maintains a comprehensive list of volunteer opportunities with services, non-profits and charities, both on-campus and off.
Purchase Ethically
Fair trade coffee can be purchased on campus in the following locations:
HUB: Bar Teca, Java Jive
SUB: Cram Dunk, L'express & Java Jive
Locally grown fruits and vegetables are available, in season, from the Campus Community Garden on 89th avenue, between 110th and 111th street. Contact us if you'd like to purchase some fresh, organic produce, or volunteer and grow it yourself for free!
Off Campus / Around Edmonton
Recycle
The city maintains a Blue Bags & Bins program for common household recyclables.
Please check out the Edmonton Waste Management Centre website for information about recycling other items, like household chemicals, old paints and electronics. Alberta is the first province in Canada to offer an electronics recycling program, courtesy of The Alberta Recycling Management Authority. Take your old hand-me-down computer or television there instead of the dump, and their wiry guts and heavy-metal-filled components can be reused in something useful instead of slowly dissolved into our water supply.
Reuse / Trade, Buy & Sell Used Items
There are a number of outlets, both online and offline, for trading used goods in Edmonton, such as:
- Used Edmonton
- Buysell / Bargain Finder
- Freecycle
- The City of Edmonton's Reuse Directory
- Value Village
- Goodwill
There are also a number of charities and non-profits to whom you could donated used goods, so that they could be put to use again, such as:
- The Cerebral Palsy Association
- The Salvation Army
- The Bissel Centre
- The Edmonton John Howard Society
- The Canadian Diabetes Association
- The Kidney Foundation of Canada
Commute
Riding on the Edmonton Transit System is a great way to reduce your emissions, with bus service covering most of the city and the LRT train lines running from south-of-campus to Clareview on the north side. Don't forget your U-Pass!
Central Edmonton is criss-crossed by a number of bike trails, and you can see them at their online bicycle map. You can also take your bike on the LRT and on the bus.
The City of Edmonton has also recently joined with Carpool.ca to offer a carpool registry and carpooling tips.
Phone
780-492-1648
Monday to Friday
Best available by appointment.
Sustain SU Office
0-81 Student Life Central desk
Lower Level
Students' Union Building
University of Alberta
8900 - 114 Street NW
Edmonton, AB
T6G 2J7
