Boston University Makes Strides To Lessen Its Carbon Footprint

Within the past two years, Boston University has shown serious initiative with respect to environmental friendliness. Recently, BU has placed recycling bins within all the campus dining halls, drastically reducing the school’s waste. In addition, this year each student was given a canvas recycle bag for his or her dorm to limit personal waste.

Recycling is not the only way BU has attempted to create a more “green” campus. Coupled with the new print quotas for staff and students, BU has required all professors to put their course documents and syllabuses online. There have always been print quotas at BU however, this year the university has limited individual student’s available copies to a mere 10 pages per semester. This may seem stringent, but because all the necessary course documents are available on the website “Blackboard,” the student print quota is actually reasonable. Many professors were initially upset that they also were to limit their copies for each semester, but most have come to embrace the resource-friendly change.

Beginning this past fall, BU also has removed all food trays from the dining halls. Though it is more arduous for students to carry individual plates and bowls to and from their seats, the effect has been a substantial decrease in food waste. Additionally, energy use has been cut since dishwashers have not been used to clean the food trays.

Small measures like these have been incorporated at BU and other colleges nation-wide to combat the gross misuse of natural resources and ignorant waste of energy throughout the country. Possibly the most pleasing aspect of “green” initiatives like these is that the majority of the ideas for carbon conscious programs have come from college and grad students. This fact may provide hope for the global awareness of the rising generation.