July is Plastic Sustainability Month, a time to focus on the critical importance of recycling and other waste reduction practices. Recycling plastic helps reduce pollution, conserve resources, and minimize the environmental footprint of our daily lives. Beyond recycling, adopting practices like reusing items, reducing single-use plastics, and choosing sustainable alternatives are essential steps toward a healthier planet. By embracing these habits, we can collectively mitigate the harmful impacts of plastic waste and contribute to a more sustainable future.
This month, sustainability advocate and senior administrative specialist at Paradise Valley Community College, Laura Mazzocchi, shared with us her passion for the planet, all its creatures, and how college campuses and the community at large can create a more thoughtful mindset for sustainability.
Question: Why is sustainability crucial for college campuses?
Mazzochhi: Sustainability is a crucial issue everywhere. College campuses can lead by example and provide valuable information to students and staff to help them make more informed decisions, not just for themselves but for the planet. Today’s young students will be dealing with the consequences of our lifestyle for a long time to come, so we have a responsibility to teach and show them better and less destructive ways of living.
Question: What inspired you to become an advocate for sustainability?
Mazzochhi: I’ve always had an affinity for all animals, not just the cute fuzzy ones. Sometime during college, it occurred to me how random it is that we love some animals and kill/eat others, so I became a vegetarian. Since then, I’ve gained so much knowledge about environmental issues and sustainability, about how we as humans so tremendously affect and alter the world around us, almost exclusively in negative ways. I have tried to live my own life in ways that match my values, and as I’ve learned more, I’ve done more. It’s become more important to me to speak up and advocate for the environment and I feel it's becoming ever more urgent.
Question: How do you incorporate sustainability into your own life, both on and off campus?
Mazzochhi: I try to reduce my use of everything, but especially those things that are not sustainable or renewable, or at the very least recyclable. There are so many easy alternatives people can start with.
- Seek out and purchase products that are not packaged in plastic.
- Try to limit single-use items as much as possible. For example, use reusable cloth napkins, tissues and cloth rags instead of paper towels.
- Use toothpaste tablets instead of a tube, refillable body and dish soap, environmentally friendly pods or sheets for laundry and the dishwasher, waterless shampoo and conditioner bars that require no plastic bottles, floss packaged in paper/cardboard, a bamboo toothbrush, etc.
- Use vinegar and water or baking soda for cleaning rather than bottled cleaners.
- Limit water use by watering plants once a week, taking shorter or fewer showers, combining loads of laundry, only running full loads of dishes.
- Use cloth bags for groceries, and keep them in your car.
- Carry a stainless-steel or glass water bottle to avoid buying bottled water.
- Remember to request no straw when you eat out or bring your own.
- Eat vegetarian or vegan.
Question: What are the long-term benefits of adopting sustainable practices on campus?
Mazzochhi: There are numerous benefits! For instance, reducing and/or eliminating the use of plastic water bottles would not only reduce the costs of purchasing them, but also lead to a reduction in trash and recycling, less plastic trash being left all over campus. The less plastics we use, theoretically, the less ends up in landfills and our oceans. The less paper we use, the less trees are chopped down to make it. The more we choose vegetarian/vegan and sustainably grown foods over processed and factory-farmed foods, the less habitats and forests are destroyed for grazing and growing food in unnatural ways.
Using sustainable practices on campus teaches us more about how to live more sustainably off campus. The more people learn and care, the more they share with their friends, children, and other family members; lead by example, and spread the word.
Question: What practical steps can we take to live more sustainably on campus?
Mazzochhi:
- Use your own water bottle, and refill it as needed.
- Use your own lunch in a reusable bag. If you’re purchasing lunch from the cafeteria, bring your own utensils, plates, and cloth napkins.
- Say no to single-use straws, plastic bottles, and containers.
- Try eating vegetarian or even vegan once or twice a week. The cafeteria offers Impossible burgers and breakfast sausages, and there are a few other vegetarian-friendly options.
- If it’s an option, use an e-textbook.
- Take notes on a laptop or tablet, rather than using paper.
- Throw your paper, aluminum, and plastic in recycling bins.
Question:What are some ideas for reducing our environmental footprint in our daily lives?
Mazzochhi: My best tip would be to think about everything you do and how it may affect the environment and animals around you. And don’t worry about being perfect or doing everything. Just do the best you can, and when you can do more, do more.
Choose products that are not packaged in plastic, when they’re available. You can find many of these types of items at Mighty Nest, Last Object, or shop locally at Sprouts.
Other ideas include:
- Purchase your own refillable water bottle, if you don’t already have one, and use it all the time, everywhere. If you must purchase bottled water or another drink, choose one that is sold in aluminum bottles or paper containers, if it’s an option.
- Try reusable cloth napkins and tissues, and use cloth rags to clean up spills, rather than paper towels.
- Use refillable and/or waterless products wherever possible. There are many great options for toothpaste tablets, shampoo and conditioner bars, as well as soap products available with liquid or powder refills that you can just add water to and use the same bottle over and over. There are also environmentally friendly sheet and pod options for laundry detergent.
- Recycling of plastics is not nearly enough. Reduce, reduce, reduce, and reuse as much as possible. Don’t buy something new unless you really need it.
- Turn off the water while washing your hands and brushing your teeth. Take shorter/fewer showers, and, especially while it’s so hot, turn off the water in the shower while washing up.
PVCC Sustainability in Action
PVCC has taken many strides to impact the environment in a positive way, including:
- Water bottle filler stations are located in all campus buildings, while bathrooms have hands-free faucets, shut-off valves, and automatic flushers.
- Much of the campus is xeriscaped, using refurbished tires for edging, and an updated irrigation system to control water flow.
- Light fixtures in classrooms have been upgraded to LED lighting with control-timed switches to shut down when classes and offices are unoccupied.
- Green cleaning products are now used throughout campus.
- Side-by-side recycling and trash containers are located throughout campus.
PVCC offers both an Associate in Arts (AAS) with an emphasis in sustainability and environmental studies, as well as a certificate of completion (CCL) in sustainability. To learn more, visit our website. Students may need to complete courses at more than one of the Maricopa County Community College District campuses.