101 Way to Conserve Water in College - Part 2: In the Kitchen

A lot of businesses, households and campuses have recently adopted water conservation plans to save money and protect the environment, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. Those of us in the developed world use inordinate amounts of water for personal use, and most of it isn’t used efficiently. With each extra utensil used or toilet flushed, water is wasted, and you can imagine how much water that adds up to on a college campus. Here are 101 ways to conserve water in college, whether you’re a student, college president or professor.

Dining Hall and Kitchen

Whether you’re making your food choices in the dining hall or in your own apartment kitchen, be smart about water with these tips.

22. Use one glass per day to drink from: If you’re just drinking water, use the same glass all day to reduce the need for washing.
23. Run the dishwasher when it’s full: If you run out of spoons, wash those by hand before running the dishwasher if it isn’t full.
24. Use the garbage disposal sparingly: Running it wastes water each time.
25. Water plants with dropped ice cubes: Putting them in pet water dishes is a good idea, too.
26. Use a pitcher of water to cool it in the refrigerator: Now you won’t have to let the faucet run to cool the water, or even use ice.
27. Fill up the sink when you wash dishes: A good alternative to just letting the water run.
28. Fill up one plate only: Use as few plates and utensils as possible to cut down on dish washing later. Do you really need a separate plate for your mashed potatoes?
29. Turn off the automatic ice maker: Don’t let it run continuously, and always turn it off when you go out of town.
30. Make soup with water leftover from steaming veggies: You’ve already pre-flavored it!
31. Bring your own reusable glasses and bottles: Don’t use disposable cups, and minimize dish washing loads for the dining hall staff. Instead, bring your own thermos or cup to fill up on water or fountain drinks.
32. Stop pre-rinsing: Most newer dishwashers are strong enough to pull off little crumbs, so a shake into the garbage can is all the pre-cleaning you really need to do.
33. Clean veggies in a pan of water: Much better than letting the water run.
34. Consider water footprint: You’ve heard of carbon footprint, but did you know that foods have a water footprint scale, too? Lettuce and cabbage have a water footprint of 15-24 gallons, while beef’s is up to 2500-5000 gallons.
35. Don’t thaw frozen foods with running water: Put it in the refrigerator over night instead.

Thanks to Online Classes for this content.