While for many students the primary motivation for their increasingly green lifestyle habits is an attempt to combat the effects of being short of cash, their actions can help tackle climate change and reduce their effect on the environment as well.

As students start their new academic year, Gwynedd Council is supporting Waste Awareness Wales’ campaign urging them to become even greener – and is encouraging people to take a leaf out of some student’s books and see if we can all live a little bit greener.

Gwenllian Roberts, Gwynedd Council’s Waste and Recycling Officer explained:

“It is very important that any new students coming to Bangor to study are aware of the waste and recycling situation in the area. The Recycling Team were out in force in Bangor during Freshers’ Week handing out information and taking names for hundreds of blue boxes for recycling.

“There are many other ways in which students can go forth to help the environment. Taking the initiative to swap unwanted clothes with friends to get a new wardrobe, walking where possible and shopping in markets where food often has less packaging are not just great ways to help wallets – it also reduces the amount of waste we throw away and could help combat climate change.

“In Gwynedd we can all use some of these simple ‘student’ lifestyle qualities to give us a bit more money in our pockets, and help reduce the amount of waste we throw away by around 60 per cent.”

Waste Awareness Wales’ advice for how students – and everyone – in Gwynedd can live a little greener:

Over 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown out each year in the UK - don’t throw away clothes and unwanted items, swap them with your friends to update your wardrobe or donate to your local charity shop for other people to enjoy, or how about selling or swapping them on the internet?
Re-use carrier bags when food shopping or invest in a ‘bag for life’. Some supermarkets now offer incentives for re-using old carrier bags.
Re-fill printer ink cartridges either by purchasing DIY refill kits or finding local companies that supply the service.
Use both sides of a piece of paper if you print documents, but make sure you check if you need to print first.
Consider using a chalkboard or wipe board for phone messages for other housemates/family members instead of using paper, or use them for making shopping lists.
Share items and appliances with housemates or family members (e.g. hair dryers, kitchen appliances, vacuum cleaners, etc.) instead of buying a new one of your own.
Take advantage of kerbside recycle collection services and household recycling centres – contact Gwynedd Council’s Waste and Recycling Help Desk on: 01286 679872 for more information or visit www.wasteawarenesswales.org.uk