SUSTAINABILITY
TODAY
NEWSLETTER
Volume 3/Issue 1
ABOUT US
KEEP YOUR HOME PERFORMING!
Th i s week’s n ewsletter i s focused on t ips for keeping y our hom e performing
T h e T exas T ech Un iversity
as we m ov e i n to th e fall season ! We h ope th ese ti ps wi ll help y ou reduce your
Recy cling Center is h oused
h om e’s en ergy n eeds and m ake you r h om e more en ergy efficient and
w ithin the Student Housing
su stainable!
Serv ices. T he center has been
in oper ation for ov er 7 years
The Bigger Picture
a n d has continually grown
A s th e day s start to get darker during the fall season , we turn on ou r l ights
y ear after year.
earl i er and earlier. Th e days get shorter, the n atural l ight becomes l ess
T oday t he Recycling Center
for abou t a qu arter of all electricity con sumed i n the U.S.
collects all forms of
r ecy clables fr om plastics,
av ai lable for usage, and we turn to ou r friend, the li ghts! Li ghting accou nts
g la ss, foam, cardboard, paper,
Bu t wh at abou t those wi ndows? A s we start getting into th e fall season,
tem peratures will start to drop an d i t will be tim e to crank up those h eaters
agai n. Before we get too far i nto the fall season , let’s take time to i n spect ou r
a lum inum , tin, electronics,
wi n dows si nce that is likely where th e heat will escape!
a n d anything in between! The
m on ey collected goes back
in t o t he students t hrough
Su st ainability Scholarships!
Wi n dows waste plenty of en ergy and that wastes m oney. Experts say that as
m u ch as 25% of y our hom e’s heat can escape thou gh leaky wi ndows. A ll of
th at l eaked en ergy m eans that en ergy bi ll will be m ore expensive, and as we
get cl oser and cl oser to th e h oliday season , ev ery dol lar saved will h elp ou t!
Let’s l ook at som e si mple steps on h ow to keep y ou r h ome perform ing by
i n specting you r li ghti ng and windows!
“Be mindful of the impact your actions leave
behind, take responsibility for your actions,
and have respect for the world around you”Tyra Banks
THE SIMPLE STEPS
1. Con si der swi t ch i n g ou t y our l ight bulbs. Regu lar i ncandescen t l ight
bu l bs are v ery i nefficient. 90% of an i ncandescent bu lb’s en ergy goes into
gen erating h eat, n ot l ight. A nyon e who h as accidently tou ched an
i n candescent bu lb th at h as been on can tell y ou how h ot i ncandescent l ight
bu l bs can get! Repl ace standard l amps with com pact flou rescent (CFL)
bu l bs! CFL bu l bs do cost m ore u pfron t, bu t these bulbs last u p to 10 ti mes
l on ger th an in candescent bulbs. CFL bu l bs are m uch more effi cient that
i n candescent bu lbs; therefore, CFL bu l bs will pay for themselves in savings
from u n tility bi lls!
2. Ch eck y ou r wi n dows. Ch ecki n g y our windows for leaks can sav e you
l ots of m on ey on y ou r heating and cool i ng bi lls. Man y ol der hom es h ave
si n gle pane windows that can be u pgraded to dou bl e pane windows. If y ou
are con si derin g in stalling dou ble pane win dows, y ou cou ld expect to pay
abou t $600 a wi n dow, bu t it i s also i m portan t to focu s on the en ergy savings
an d poten ti al added value to y ou r h ome.
3. Con si der u si n g t echn ology t o h elp comba t wa st ed en ergy . In
today ’s adv anced world, i t i sn ’t too su rprising to see peopl e u sing a smart
dev i ce to get th rough ou t daily routine. Th ere are m any dev ices that can help
Contact Us
St u den t Hou si ng Serv ices
3301 Ph y sical Plant Driv e
Lu bbock, TX 79409
Mai l Stop: 3142
y ou r h om e becom e m ore en ergy efficien t from full smart h om e systems to
di gi tal thermostats. Utilizing technol ogy to ai d in m aking h om es smarter is
beom i n g m ore an d more popu lar, and m any systems can ev en be run from
y ou r sm artphon e!
h ou si [email protected]
TIPS FOR YOUR HOME!
www.h ou sing.ttu.edu/gogreen/
In st a ll wea t herst ripping: Ch eck you r doors an d windows. If y ou can feel
a draft com ing from them, check th e weatherstri ppin g to see i f it needs to be
repl aced. Doors an d wi ndows are typically weatherstripped when th ey are
i n stalled, bu t ov er time the weatherstripping wears off. A s a rule of thumb,
al l doors an d windows, including storm doors and wi ndows, shou ld h ave weatherstripping on all of th e m oveable joi n ts to
prev en t air from l eaking i n and ou t of th e doors and wi ndows. Y ou can find weatherstripping at you r l ocal h ardware store
th at can be easily i nstalled. Weatherstrippi ng i s also a a ch eaper alternative to repl acing doors and wi ndows.
Use dra pes or sh u t ters: Usi ng drapes or shutters ov er you r wi ndows can keep col d ou t in th e winter and the h eat ou r
du ri ng the summer mon ths. A s we m ov e i nto th e fall season , there will be h ot days and cool ev enings, so th is i s a great
way of con serv ing en ergy from y ou r heatin g and cool ing systems. A n uninsulated drape can cu t win dow heat l oss by a
th i rd and an insulated drape can reduce it by half!
Ch eck y ou r wi n dow a i r con di tion ers: Ch eck to see i f y ou can remov e, clean, and store window air con dition ers to
prev en t warm air from l eakin g ou t of the u nit. If y ou are u nable to rem ove th e window u nit, wrap the u nit up i n a th ick
l ay er of fiberclass i nsulation and seal i t wi th pl astic sheeti ng and duct tape to keep ou t air and m oi sutre.
Con si der u si n g lighting con t rol s: Th ere are sev eral di fferent lighting con trol s on the m arket th at cou ld h elp you
redu ce en ergy wasted on l ighting at hom e. Con si der u sing con trol s like photocel ls that turn lights on and off based on
n atu ral l ight lev els, di mmers to reduce the wattage and ou tput of l ight bu lbs, or ev en occu pancy sensors that activate lights
wh en y ou en ter a room an d turn off after y ou l eave. Th ese are a great idea for a reas of i nfrequ ent use like a closet or
storeroom . A n y of the v arious lighting con trols can h elp y ou reduce wasted en ergy from lighting.
Cl ea n f ixtures: Cl eanin g lightin g fixtures and l amps more often by wiping off the dust. Th e du st and di rt on these
su rfaces reduces the amout of l ight that i s reflected and can m ake the room feel darker. You might also con sider cleaning
wal l s or repainting walls to m ake room s feel brighter!
Tu rn of f : Th e easi est way to prev ent lost en ergy from l ighting, i t to ju st si m ply turn off the l ights wh en they are n ot
n eeded. Y ou can also con sider turning off h eating and cool i ng systems when y ou are at work or i f y ou go on v acation so
th at y ou can prevent h eating and cool in g an empty h ouse. Tu rni ng off these systems will save y ou m on ey on y ou r utility
bi l l s and can help con serve en ergy.
NEWS AND INFORMATION
Th i s past fiscal y ear th e Texas Tech Recycling Cen ter recycled m ore m aterial than i t h as ever recycled i n its h istory. In
FY 16, th e Recyclin g Cen ter recycled 502 ton s of m a teri al com pared to 381 ton s of m aterial in FY15. Th e total rebates from
recy cl ing com es ou t to an amazing $39,000 th at will be pu t into schol arships for students! We are so prou d of al l the h ard
work ev ery on e pu ts into recycling, and as m uch as we l ike seei ng the recycling n umbers i ncrease, the ultimate goal is to
redu ce th e amou nt of m aterial that n eeds to be recy cled like paper and plastic. We wi l l always encou rage peopl e to u tilize
a refi llable water bottle rather than purchasing a n ew pl astic bottle. Bel ow i s a graph that represents the past several y ears
of total recycling i n ton s.
May be y ou fi nd y ourself askin g, “Well what can I actually recycle?” We h ave foun d a great resource for recy clin g and
reu si ng i tem s! We m u st rem ind you that i f y ou h ave any qu estions on what we can take h ere at th e Texas Tech Recycling
Cen ter, pl ease don ’t h esitate to call or em ail u s y our qu estion s. Ou r goal is to take as m uch recyclable material from the
com m u n ity as possible; h owever, there are som e materials that we are n ot able to recycle. We al so wanted to rem ind
ev ery on e wh o u tilizes ou r Recyclin g Cen ter to pu t their recyclables i n a tied bag, this h elps u s stay organi zed , and we do
recy cl e the bags!
h ttp://www.person alcreations.com /blog/how -to-recycle-anything
Th e Texas Tech Recy cling Cen ter i s excited to be a part of th e upcom ing com mun ity ev ent “Think Gl obal, A ct Local : Get
Y ou r Green Up” on October 16 th from 2-4pm at the Mu seum of Texas Tech Uni versity. Th i s ev ent is in con jun ction with
th e Mu seu m ’s n ew exhibi t Gre en Re volution! Th ere wi ll be ov er 15 l ocal organization s for sustainable living and will
i n cl ude in formation on renewable energy, recy clin g, ligh ting, wi ldlife, and more! To l earn m ore, ch eck ou t the li nk bel ow!
h ttp://today .ttu.edu/posts/2016/09/green-revol ution