Energy and environment
We're committed to doing our bit for the environment and try to make it as easy as possible for our residents to do their bit too. Here are details of just some of the green things going on in University accommodation at the moment...
Student Switch Off
The Student Switch Off is a national energy saving competition which encourages residents to be more environmentally aware in the belief that small changes can make a big difference.
Hundreds of residents have signed up to be Eco-Power Rangers and pledged to turn lights and appliances off when not in use, put lids on pans, not overfill the kettle and lots more. Fantastic prizes are up for grabs for the property which saves the most energy over the year, including eco-gadgets, Ben & Jerry´s ice-cream, club night tickets and Lush products.
So far this year, an impressive 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide has been prevented from entering the atmosphere by our residents. Tha's equivalent in energy to:
- Power an energy saving light bulb for 500 years
- Make 2million cups of tea
- Fly from London to Manchester 786 times
Find out more about the Student Switch Off and see the latest energy saving data for each property
Check out photos of Sheffield students switching off on Facebook
Bring it, don't bin it
Twice a year, at the end of the first semester and at the end of the academic year, we run the Bring it, don´t bin it campaign which enables students who are moving out, or who are just having a spring clean, to donate their unwanted items to charity.
The collection at the end of semester one, when many Erasmus students moved out, brought in over 320kg of items. Some of these were sold at a Yard Sale in the Students' Union and the £250 raised donated to local homeless charity, St. Vincent's. The other items were given to St. Vincent's Furniture Store.
The Bring it, don't bin it collections at the end of the academic year will be bigger and better with drop-off points across the residences. We're expecting lots of generous donations from this year's residents and are hoping to beat last year´s total of one tonne of items that were rescued from the skip and instead put to good use.
Here's a reminder of the kind of things that can be donated to Bring it, don't bin it:
- Bedding
- Clothes and shoes
- Cutlery, crockery and cooking items
- Toasted sandwich makers
- Unopened toiletries
- Books, CDs and DVDs
- Non-perishable food
Proud supporters of Fairtrade
eatwithUS, the University´s catering providers, are proud supporters of Fairtrade and its aim to alleviate third world poverty by giving crop producers a fair price for their products.
All eatwithUS outlets in the residences and on campus serve only Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate as well as a range of other Fairtrade snacks and cold drinks.
Reduce, re-use, recycle
In every kitchen there are facilities to recycle paper, card, plastic, tins, and glass. Here's a reminder of which bin to use for each type of waste:
Two wheeled travel
As cycling is one of the greenest ways to travel and Sheffield is one of England´s greenest cities, we thought we´d give our residents the opportunity to purchase bargainous reconditioned bikes to enable them to hit the road on two wheels. The cycle sales proved extremely popular, with the bikes all selling out within minutes.
Dr. Bike has also paid a couple of visits to the residences to offer safety advice, cycling refresher lessons and to carry out minor repairs.
There are plenty of cycle storage facilities across the residences and on campus.
Find out more about cycling at Sheffield
ACS go green
It's not just students who are doing their bit for the environment – staff in the department that look after University accommodation are too.
Accommodation and Commercial Services (ACS) have signed up to the Green Impact scheme and are competing with other departments to achieve points for being environmentally friendly.
The last ACS staff conference focused on what they can all do to improve their energy credentials in the home and the workplace. The conference also included a poster competition where teams created posters based around environmental themes and there was a swap shop, where staff swapped unwanted items with each other rather than throwing them away.