Green, Rollins College

One ton (40 cases) of 100% post-consumer paper SAVES the equivalent of:

  • 24 trees (forty feet in height and 6-8 inches in diameter)
  • 7,000 gallons of water
  • 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity
  • 60 pounds of air pollution

And campuses offering reusable mugs and drink discounts have seen disposable waste decrease by as much as 30%. (UCSB.edu/sustainability)

Black screens consume less energy than white screens. Based on the idea that colors consume different amounts of energy on computer monitors, Blackle partnered with Google Custom Search to create an energy-efficient search engine.

Americans buy over 70 million bottles of water every day. Over 60 million of these are thrown away/littered every single day. (From Container Recycling Institute, wecansolveit.org)

A stack of one million CDs would be three times the height of the Empire State building. It can take nearly 400 years for one CD to decompose in a landfill--and longer for the packaging. (From Sierra Club)

Many coffee/cocoa farmers are trapped in poverty and unwillingly forced to rely on child labor to meet the demands of large corporations. Pickers are mistreated and even trafficked into slavery. The purchase of only organic Fair Trade certified coffee, chocolate, and teas ensures a fair, living wage for the growers/pickers and more sustainable farming practices for the environment. (From wecansolveit.org)

The world consumes more than one million plastic bags every minute. It takes 60 million barrels of oil to produce these bags every year, and it can take nearly 1,000 years for each bag to break down in a landfill. (From Sierra Club)

Electric ovens use twice as much energy as small, energy-efficient appliances such as microwave ovens, toaster ovens, and Crock-Pots. (From Sierra Club)

America consumes 30% of the world’s paper – printing and writing paper comprises half of this percentage.
(From Sierra Club)

For every $11 spent on groceries, $1 goes toward packaging! Up to 40% of the waste in our landfills is packaging-related material. Rethink what you buy. (From Sierra Club)

North America accounts for 31.5% of global consumption, even though we only comprise 5% of the world’s total population. (From Sierra Club)

Vampire power costs America between 1 and 3 billion dollars per year. This energy waste comes from appliances left plugged in when they are not in use. (From Sierra Club)


©2012 Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789  407.646.2000
Sustainability at Rollins HomeAcademic ProgramsCampus InitiativesStudent InvolvementAlumni InvolvementNews and EventsResourcesDid You Know?

ReThink, Reduce, Reduce, Recycle
(from Global Stewards)

Reduce Purchases: In general, think before you buy any product - do you really need it? How did the production of this product impact the environment and what further impacts will there be with the disposal of the product (and associated packaging materials)? When you are thinking about buying something, try the 30-Day Rule -- wait 30 days after the first time you decide you want a product to really make your decision. This will eliminate impulse buying.

Simplify: Simplify your life as much as possible. Only keep belongings that you use/enjoy on a regular basis. By making the effort to reduce what you own, you will naturally purchase less/create less waste in the future.

Buy Used: Buy used products whenever possible. Sources include garage sales, Craigslist, local thrift stores,, local used furniture stores and local consignment shops.

Borrow From Friends: If you only need something temporarily, ask if a friend or neighbor would loan it to you.

Share With Friends: Share things like books, magazines, movies, games, and newspapers between friends and neighbors.

Avoid Creating Trash: Avoid creating trash wherever possible: when ordering food, avoid receiving any unnecessary plastic utensils, straws, etc. (ask in advance), buy ice cream in a cone instead of a cup, don't accept "free" promotional products, buy products with the least amount of packaging, etc. Every little bit of trash avoided does make a difference!