Welcome to Missouri State University! Join your fellow Bears in being more environmentally responsible by using the following tips for a more sustainable move-in.
Green up your packing:
1. Don’t worry about buying moving boxes
- Alternative: use suitcases, backpacks, reusable bags, plastic tubs, old cardboard boxes, or even pack in trash bags. All of these items are reusable or recyclable.
- Reminder: If you do use cardboard boxes, make sure you break them down and recycle them after unpacking.
2. Ditch the bubble wrap and packing peanuts
- Alternative: protect your breakables with clothes, towels, and other soft buffers that you were already planning on bringing to campus. You can also reuse old newspapers or plastic grocery bags and then recycle these items when you unpack.
Buying Guide
3. Reuse first – see what you can bring from home. Often times family members have gently used household items that you can have – think dishes, sheets, throw pillows, curtains, small kitchen appliances and even furniture… Reusing saves money, time and resources!
4. Buy Reusable – water bottles, coffee mugs, dishes, containers, utensils and more. Reusables are perfect for on-campus living as they save you money, take up less of your valuable living space and they are much better for the environment.
- Always carry a reusable water bottle with you on campus. Look for one of the many hydration stations across campus to refill your bottle and see how many bottles we have saved from the landfill!
- Also, learn more here about our reusable cup program on campus.
5. Buy Efficient – look for the Energy Star® label when buying appliances.
6. Buy Recycled – look for school supplies made from recycled content.
What to bring?
7. Water-filtering pitcher – keep your pitcher in the fridge so you always have cold, filtered water to drink in your room. Save money and the environment by not buying bottled water or running the tap for a long period of time to get cold water.
8. Power strips – this is an easy way to reduce your energy consumption. Charging cords, TVs and many other devices draw energy even when they are not in use. Plug in all your electronic devices to a power strip and flip the switch when you are not using them.
9. CFL light bulbs – save more energy by using CFL light bulbs, which only use about a quarter of the energy of incandescent light bulbs.
10. Bike – if you have a bike, bring it! This is a fun way to get to class quickly and avoid the carbon emissions and the cost of gas associated with driving. Look for the bike paths that are marked on campus and find out more about bicycle regulations on campus here.