Create a Greener Dorm Room
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA 
on 09. 6.07
Photo credit: distinguish
How geared up is your dorm sweet dorm for this year's adventures in higher education? Okay, so you've finally found the sheets that will actually fit those extra-long cribs—you may even have come to terms with the staid regulation furniture you'll have to face for four whole years, but that doesn't mean you can't class up the joint a little, while adding some eco-friendly touches that will boost your mind, spirit, and possibly your GPA. After all, you want to feel ill after a late-night pizza-eating contest, not from the chemicals in your roommate's synthetic air freshener.
You'll probably sleep easier, for instance, knowing that your pillows and sheets aren't soaked in pesticides, formaldehyde, heavy metal dyes, and other toxic nastiness. And call us crazy, but we think you'd rather worry about whether your girlfriend has the hots for her T.A., rather than how our landfills are being swamped by billions of petroleum-based plastic bottles. (Tip: A sturdy water filter for your faucet will stand you in good stead. You're on your own with the girlfriend/T.A. thing, though.) ::Care2
Difficulty level: Easy
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Here's one way college students can green up their living spaces:
Don't throw out everything at the end of the year.
Every May, the streets around New Brunswick (home of Rutgers University) are littered with old tables, desks, mattresses, lamps, etc. to the point that the city is often overwhelmed. They've instituted Project MoveOut (http://www.cityofnewbrunswick.org/moveout/) in an attempt to reduce the amount of material left out for trash collection.
Recycle your furniture or give it away.