Sustainability isn't limited to campus life. Whether you are a student, faculty or staff, the following resources can help save money, support the community, and reduce pollution—all while supporting your home.
- Meal planning and cooking from home can save money and prevent food waste. Courses on nutrition and cooking for all ages are offered by the SHRS Wellness Pavilion.
- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) connects consumers directly to local farmers. These programs cut down on pollution caused by shipping and food waste, while providing quality food that often is less expensive than grocery store prices.
- SNAP benefits can be used at local farmers markets through the Fresh Access program.
- Services such as Imperfect Foods and Flashfood sell food items safe for consumption but are likely to be disposed of by larger grocery stores due to blemishes or nearing its expiration date.
Cleaning products, soap, and cosmetics can utilize harmful chemicals and adding unnecessary plastics to the waste stream. Find safer and more sustainable products via EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning and EPA’s Safer Choice
Some other best practices to reduce packaging & single use items:
- Buy refillable products or ones that come in glass or aluminum
- Buy your favorite personal care items in bulk
- Use bar soap and shampoos
- Use reusable kitchen towels (instead of single-use paper towels)
- Switch to natural sponges that can be composted
Refillable retailers allow shoppers to bring their own containers to fill with personal care and home products, or utilize store provided reusable containers that are returned by customers.
East End Food Co-op in Homewood
The Refillery in Oakmont
Sol Refill (delivery within Pittsburgh area)
Renters
Sources: Duquesne Light and Peoples Natural Gas are the utilities that deliver your electricity and natural gas, respectively, in the City of Pittsburgh. However, across Pennsylvania, residents can choose where they buy their energy from, even when renting.
Specific to electricity, this means you can choose to purchase renewable electricity. PA Power Switch can help you determine which energy provider is right for you — and how to make the switch happen.
Simply turning your thermostat back 7 to 10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting and save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling
Home Owners
- When purchasing an appliance, consider products certified Energy Star and WaterSense. These items have been tested to be more energy and water efficient, saving you money.
- Check out the Department of Energy’s Energy Savings Hub for federal rebates on professional home energy audits, efficiency and weatherization projects and more.
- Checking out some do-it yourself home energy saving projects.
Renters
Home Owners
or WaterSense
Use: The University of Pittsburgh is actively striving to reduce water usage — and you can to! Conserve water by turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth, shortening your shower time (aim for 5 minutes or shorter), and only doing full loads of laundry.
On-Campus: The University strictly maintains water quality on campus — and performs regular testing.
Most homes in the City of Pittsburgh where students live get water from Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) which constantly monitors water quality to ensure drinking water in compliance with state and federal regulations.
PWSA’s focus on providing cleaner drinking water has been nationally recognized, including concentration on replacing all lead service lines city-wide by 2026.
If you are concerned about lead pipes at your residence, check out PWSA’s interactive map and request a free lead test kit if it does. If the test shows elevated levels of contamination, PWSA will send you a free water filter to use.
Students can get support finding housing and roommates, resources for being safe when living off-campus, and the support you’ll need to be a responsible neighbor.
