By Jadon Hook, Sustainability Coordinator
Do you want to contribute to a greener and cleaner environment? Start by cutting down on plastic use. To promote this, the College’s Sustainability Team is supporting Plastic-Free July! Join the initiative by choosing to avoid single-use plastic packaging, avoid plastic takeaway items (coffee cups, plastic bags, single-use bottles, and plastic straws), or challenge yourself to go “plastic-free”!
The good news is that SLC has a number of initiatives to help you minimize plastic use and promote this to your friends and colleagues. Discover how you can go plastic-free on our campus this month. Check which behaviours are you implementing, but also where you could improve. Do something drastic, cut the plastic!
Canadians throw away over 3 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. What is your role to help reducing this number? The solution starts with your everyday choices. Our choices at home, workplace, shops, and everywhere we are involved can make a big difference.
Start switching your choices on-campus:
- Check out plasticfreejuly.org for great resources and solutions happening globally!
- Bring Your Own Mug (BYOM) program. Receive a discount on any hot beverage order when you BYOM.
- Forgot your reusable mug? Use our CANO reusable mugs and containers on campus.
- Order your food in CANO reusable containers. Enjoy your meal, return, and earn rewards!
- Proper waste sorting: ensure your composting and recycling habits are on the right track.
- Bring your own cutlery when dining in. Refuse single-use plastic cutlery.
- Win reusable bamboo cutlery by participating in the student run campaign Eco Switch!
- Avoid the use of plastic straws or BYO reusable alternative.
- Bring your own water bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles – use our hydration stations located tri-campus to conveniently refill.
Want to take more action? Discover the various ways to get involved with a day-to-day guide by downloading the Plastic Free Choices Calendar and My Choices Checklist. Be part of the solution!
Turtle Sightings at SLC
Turtles have been sighted at SLC campuses this spring and summer and are nesting and are crossing our busy roads. Please give them space, slow down when driving, and watch out for our friends during this season. Signage will be going up on-site where turtles have been spotted to remind the community about their presence. Turtles play an important role in our ecosystem. For more information on how you can help contribute to research and to conservation efforts to support turtles, visit this site and check out the Ontario Turtle Tally program. Sightings can be submitted by the website of through the Adopt-A-Pond Citizen Science app.
BlueW
SLC is a BlueW location on all three campuses. BlueW connects residents and tourists with a network of locations to refill reusable water bottles. BlueW is a non-profit initiative, dedicated to promoting municipal tap water. BlueW provides a map of locations where people can fill their reusable bottle with safe, reliable tap water without making additional purchases.
