Tag: Consumerism

Still missing something you need? Move-in tips to reduce waste

Every year, over 11,000 NYU students move into residence halls all across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Lined up in front of the halls on move-in day, there are not only grinning students, but also mini fridges, microwaves, fans, and lamps, just to name a few. Students and their families haul these new items up to their rooms in preparation for the year ahead.

Yet, several months later when the rooms are cleared, where does all of this equipment end up? While sometimes put in storage or donated, most items end up in the landfill after the school year comes to a close. 

Tips for Reducing Your Waste During Move-In:

  • Rent Second-Hand Items:  After observing the amount of waste that accumulates from residence halls, NYU entrepreneur Patrick Varuzza wanted to help students reduce their carbon footprint and support a circular economy. He founded Hubbub, a platform allowing students to rent dorm/apartment essentials and have the items delivered directly to their residence. Their inventory ranges from microwaves to coffee machines to vacuums. Since they pick it up at the end of the academic year there is no waste!
  • Purchase Reusables: Ensure that you have a reusable water bottle, coffee mug, utensils, and bags once you move into your residence. Plastic packaging waste quickly accumulates and NYU no longer gives out single-use water bottles in efforts to reduce our environmental impact. 
  • Fight Food Insecurity with the Student Pantry: The College Student Pantry at SAFH in East Village addresses food insecurity among students by providing them with free food and meals. By making an appointment, you receive 3-days worth of groceries. There will be a Welcome Event on Wednesday, Sept 7th 4pm-7pm for free groceries, cooking demos, and student care kits.
  • Borrow Books: NYU Libraries outlines how you can borrow books, videos, and audio from NYU, Consortium, and Non-NYU libraries. Facebook Marketplace, the Strand, and other used book stores also offer affordable reading materials. By borrowing or purchasing secondhand, you give books more uses and eliminate waste. 
  • Borrow & Swap Items with Friends: Students can both dispose of items they no longer want and attain new supplies by exchanging with others. As upperclassmen move into new residences, they might be looking to give away some items so ask around. It’s easy to swap books, clothes, equipment, and other everyday essentials.
  • Familiarize Yourself with Waste Bins: NYU has landfill and mixed recycling bins on every floor with composting bins in dining halls. Each hall also has a bin to collect textiles typically located near the laundry room. By correctly sorting your waste, you help reduce the amount of trash that ends up in landfills. 
  • Use Donation Services Throughout the Year: Check out the DonateNYC portal for a comprehensive resource on where to donate all of your items including clothes, furniture, food, bedding, books, and household items. By donating throughout the year, you reduce the number of items you need to discard when move-out comes around. 
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Green Cleaning

Many ingredients in conventional cleaning products may pose environmental and health risks. This guide will help you easily identify sustainable and effective alternatives!

hand wearing dishwasher glove scrubbing dirt of a table with water, lemon, and baking sodaBetter Commercial Products

  • Look for reputable certification labels – Check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) comprehensive guide on greener cleaning products. Look for “Safer Choice” and “Design for the Environment” certification labels created by the EPA to identify products made with ingredients that are safer for you and the environment. There are other third-party certifications with various goals and standards. The EPA provides a full list of recommendations in regards to private sector standards and eco-labels.
  • Use your products to the last drop – Don’t throw a product away until it’s fully empty. Store bottles upside down to get every drop. If you’re at the start of your green cleaning journey, use up what you have left and switch over to sustainable alternatives as you run out. 

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Graduate Green

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It’s graduation season! And for those who will be leaving the NYU community, we wanted to send you off with some tips for living sustainably in your post-NYU years.

 

Stay involved!

The NYU Office of Sustainability welcomes alumni to continue to work with us in advancing environmental initiatives at NYU. Help inform the initiatives of our office and stay up-to-date on what’s going on in our community by signing up for our newsletter. Read more

Black History Month: A Look Into the History of Black Veganism

I recently attended The Countdown: Exploring the Future of Plant-Centric Food Systems, which featured a session with Tracye McQuirter, a public health nutritionist, plant-based activist, author, and speaker. During the session, McQuirter described how she was moved by Dick Gregory’s speech about the health of African American women over 30 years ago. 

“[Gregory] talked about the politics of food, including why African Americans are often targeted for junk and fast food, along with the lack of availability of healthy foods in low-income communities. He traced the path of a hamburger from a cow at a factory farm through the slaughterhouse, to a fast-food restaurant, to a clogged artery, to a heart attack. I’d never thought about food that way.” 

Here are some resources to learn more about Tracye McQuirter’s work and trailblazers in the Black vegan movements:

  1. By Any Greens Necessary

This book by Tracye McQuirter was a national best-seller that was cited by The New York Times as a key reason for the popular rise of veganism among African Americans during the last decade. 

2. Ageless Vegan

Tracye McQuirter’s second book is a memoir-style cookbook that she wrote with her mother to mark 30 years of their veganism. 

3. 10 Million Black Vegan Women

Tracye McQuirter’s organization aims to help Black women improve their health outcomes through plant-based eating. It provides data and statistics about chronic conditions affecting Black women today, as well as programs that use plant-based nutrition and community support.

4. A Homecoming

In this detailed Eater article, Amirah Mercer highlights the long history of plant-based diets in the Black diaspora, which is often erased by the imagery of veganism propagated by the wellness industry. 

5. Black and vegan: Why so many Black Americans are embracing the plant-based life

Vidya Rao discusses veganism in Black pop culture and highlights the journey of Pinky Cole, a plant-based restaurateur in Atlanta. 

6. Bryant Terry

Bryant Terry is a celebrated cookbook author and has served since 2015 as the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora, in San Francisco. His (beautifully illustrated) books highlight vegetarian and vegan African American cooking, as well as recipes inspired by the African diaspora. Fun fact – Bryant Terry is an NYU alum! 

And here are some of New York City’s Black-Owned Plant-Based businesses to check out:

Listening to Tracye was eye-opening for me. Having grown up in India, I sometimes take access to fresh food for granted, so I wanted to know more about the disparity in food and health that disproportionately affects Black communities. Tracye’s passion and enthusiasm was infectious and inspired me to learn more – I hope this digest inspires you too.

 

– Avani Jalan, Food and Dining Coordinator at NYU Office of Sustainability 

Students Helping Students Reduce Waste from Move-out

by Patrick Varuzza

Patrick Varuzza (he/him) is a Masters student at NYU Tandon and is building a circular economy startup called Hubbub designed to help other students in NYC. In this blog, Patrick shares resources where you can learn more about consumer waste problems and some background about Hubbub! 

Do you recall the movie, WALL-E? It was a PIXAR film that followed a solitary robot on an uninhabitable and deserted Earth, left to clean up garbage. Though fictional, that version of the world seems increasingly realistic as humans are burning through resources so quickly that we’d need 1.5 Earths to sustain our current rate of consumption. 

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