Syracuse University

'Saving Juice in the 'Cuse' residence hall competition begins in November

Melissa Cadwell
443-9669

Melissa Cadwell

Syracuse University's Office of Residence Life, ResidenceHall Association and Sustainability Division in the Office of Energy and Computing Management are sponsoring the second annual Saving Juice in the 'Cuse contest in November. This competition between campus residence hall communities runs through the month and is designed to increase the sustainable behavior of the on-campus student population through energy reduction and by increasing recycling tonnage in the residences halls. Prizes for the winning residence halls will be presented in January.

The Saving Juice in the 'Cuse competition is in response to increased student interest in sustainability and working toward the SU campus becoming climate neutral. Through participation in this challenge, students take an active role in the future of their campus and learn lifelong tools for use after their graduation.

Students are encouraged to partake in simple strategies to lower energy use and increase recycling tonnage in the residence halls, including:

• placing only recyclable items in recycling bins; information on what is recyclable in Onondaga County can be found at http://www.ocrra.org/;
• refilling reusable beverage bottles with water instead of purchasing bottled water;
• taking advantage of dining centers' refill policy after meals and using a reusable mug instead of purchasing a bottled beverage;
• printing on both sides of paper and using the backs of printed documents as scrap paper;
• turning off lights in unoccupied rooms;
• during the day, taking advantage of the sun's free rays to light a room;
• changing light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs, which save 75 percent more energy, last up to 10 times longer and produce 75 percent less heat than incandescent bulbs;
• unplugging chargers plugged into an outlet;
• turning off the computer--PCs consume 50-250 watts of energy, with laptops consuming the least amount of energy at around 45 watts; and
• considering one shower per day and reducing the time spent in the shower.

More information and tips on these energy-reducing strategies can be found at http://greenuniversecity.syr.edu.