Living Greener

Being Green in Cambridge Cambridge is one of the easiest towns in the UK to live sustainably, and to make the best of the opportunities on offer, here are the top 10 tips for green living in Cambridge. Just remember that these are guides, not rules. If you interpret them sensibly there’s no need to get hung up on the small print.

  1. Reduce-reuse-recycle: The most important part of sustainable living, and pretty much everything else stems from this. If you only remember one thing, remember this. Reusing waste is much better for the environment than recycling it, and not creating it in the first place is even better. It’s about preventing waste in the first place, not dealing with it afterwards. Robinson has recycling boxes for glass, metal and paper under every staircase. The college also recycles printer cartridges, mobile phones and batteries. See Recycling.

    1. Buy Organic: Organic is a big topic, but its got 2 main areas. Basically it might be better for you, and it’s definitely better for the environment as it uses less pesticide, less artificial fertiliser and produces less carbon than the equivalent non-organic equivalent. For a full impartial explanation try wikipedia. Look for the soil association symbol for trustworthy certification of organic standards. You can buy organic in Sainsbury’s, where it costs a bit more. However, if you shop at Arjuna Wholefoods on Mill road, or Cambridge market (especially on Sunday) then it might not cost you any more than normal.

    2. Buy Local: If your food is from further away, then it takes more fossil fuel burning transport to get it here. Buy food locally to get rid of those needless food miles, and it will probably be fresher too. One caveat, foreign organic food might produce fewer carbon emissions than local non-organic food, especially if it’s meat. Just do the best you can.

    3. Switch off: Lights, water, heat. Another anti-waste one and it’s so simple it hurts. When you’re not using things turn them off. So turn off your lights when you go out and turn off the computer if you’re not using it for over half an hour. Shutting it down is worth it - it still uses most of it's energy when in 'sleep' mode. Don’t leave the tap running when you wash up and turn the radiator off instead of opening the window. It’s in your best interest, so much of your college bill goes to pay for electricity and gas that we can’t really put the actual amount on the internet. If we turned things off more, College might get a lot cheaper.

    4. Switch to Smile: Smile, the most competitive ethical bank on the market. They offer a current account with a debit card, a student account with a £2,000 automatic overdraft and a 4.50% APR instant savings account. It’s worth getting even if you like sweatshops.

    5. Fairtrade: Fair trade is about workers rights. The right to a reasonable wage, decent working conditions and sustainable farming practices. For a full explanation see wikipedia. It actually shouldn’t cost more than non-fairtrade goods, if you go to the right place. Sainsbury’s Fairtrade tea is cheaper than Tetleys. Shop around, but Arjuna Wholefoods is still a pretty good place to go, as is Oxfam. The College sells a wide range of Fairtrade products in the Red Brick Cafe and the Garden Restaurant.

    6. Sustainable fish: Everyone knows that fish live in the sea, but no one really knows how many there are. Unfortunately they seem to be disappearing fast. If you buy certified sustainable fish (like all fish in the Garden Restaurant), you know that the fish you’re eating comes from a source that isn’t disappearing. And on that note, cod, halibut, skate and haddock are pretty much endangered species; you might not want to eat them. The film 'End of The Line' explains the issues well.

    7. Plastic: It takes ages to decompose, it sits in landfills, and after just 1 recycle it’s still rubbish. CUSU and the city council often give out canvas bags at the beginning of the year, and if you don’t like the taste of Cambridge tap water you can buy a Brita filter instead of buying bottles. Tell shop assistants that you don't need a bag (politely!) and eventually they may adopt policies like Sainsbury's 'reuse' scheme.

    8. Keep the heat in: Shut the glass doors at the bottom of every staircase. They’re there to keep the heat in. You wouldn’t believe how much money gets spent on the gas bill every month, money that would otherwise be spent on student welfare.

    9. Educate yourself: If you’ve exhausted the possibilities of Wikipedia, then there's always magazines such as 'The economist' in the library, or events every week around University. Check out the Green Bulletin when it comes around for listings and look out for new events on the Green Board in the JCR. Talk to the Green Officer if you'd like to find out how you can get more involved in the campaigns in College.

For easy learning combined there's films like 'An inconvinient truth' and 'The 11th hour' that are worth watching as an introduction to the problems and possible solutions.

Plus there's loads of websites out there dedicated to green issues - here are just a few:

CUSU - keeps you up to date with all the campaigns you can get involved with at Cambridge - that is Ethical Investment, Real Food and Go Greener

grist - news, advice and green laughs

habitat - Green news focused on Britain

freecycle - local groups set up on the basis of giving away unwanted items for free- from carboard boxes to furniture

envirofone - recycle your old mobile for money and chose whether to cash it or donate to your chosen charity

And finally, just remember that no matter how confusing it seems at first, being green isn’t hard. Robinson College is one of the best places in the UK to learn about living sustainably and Cambridge has a well developed network of societies, shops and people to help you make the most of your time here. Enjoy it.