 "One of the best ways to "go green" is to focus on reusing things instead of just tossing them out. For instance, jars can be used for food and scraps of paper can be used for notes. Give away clothing when you are finished with it rather than throwing it away. Consider using the Bilkent Library for books, magazines and international periodicals instead of buying them. Finally, instead of using plastic bags from the grocery store, take a backpack or strong cloth bags with you to carry things home.
"For cleaning jobs around the office, dorm or home, try less toxic, less hazardous and natural cleaners in lieu of harsh chemicals. Vinegar is a mild disinfectant that does a good job of cleaning glass, cutting grease and deordorizing. Baking soda is also another good, natural alternative cleaner that is abrasive and can be used for deodorizing, removing stains, polishing and softening fabric.
"Instead of using screen savers on you computer, set your computer to go into standby mode or turn the monitor off completely (for instance, when you go to lunch, switch off the monitor). A typical 17" CRT monitor uses 80 watts of energy, using a screen saver results in no energy savings. However a sleeping monitor uses between 0 and 15 watts and a monitor turned off at the switch uses between 0 and 10 watts. Also, use dark backgrounds for your screen display to save energy.
"Saving paper and recycling paper are fairly easy given today's current technology. Instead of printing off drafts and emails, review them onscreen. Also, consider emailing communications as an alternative to paper memos and faxing documents.
If you must print things out, print on recycled-content paper and use double-sided printing functions. Finally, take advantage of the blue recycling bins found throughout campus to recycle paper, plastic etc.
"Use reusable containers for your drinks or reuse bottles. Ask the folks at Coffee Break, Mozart's, etc., if you can have your coffee, tea, or espresso drinks put into your own travel mug or container. Reusing is more efficient than recycling because nothing needs to be melted down or reprocessed.
"When you're not using your computer, you can save energy by putting it to "sleep." When your computer is in sleep, it's turned on but in a low power mode. It takes less time for a computer to wake up from sleep than it does for the computer to start up after being turned off.
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