Ways to Live More Sustainable As An Exchange Student

If your housing company is as weird as mine, they probably made you buy lots of stuff when you moved into your student accommodation. A bedlinen package, kitchen supplies, all things that are handy to have but that are very obviously made to be thrown away after a semester or two. And, going abroad, you can’t really bring any of the supplies that have accumulated in the kitchen of your home uni town apartment. There seems to be only the choice between living as a minimalist for a semester, or buying cheap supplies that will be thrown away.

Now, if you’re an Öko like me, that sucks. I like to believe that I care about our environment, and do everything in my power to minimize my imprint on it. I don’t eat meat, I take the bike (or public transport), I am conscious about food waste and I am trying to reduce my plastic consumption (hint: it’s not easy when the Dutch supermarkets insist on selling you everything wrapped in plastic, like single bell peppers or bread). But this exchange semester might just be one of the most environmentally unfriendly things I’ve done in a while.

Most of that is in areas where I can’t really change anything, save for not going on Erasmus, like the ecological cost of transport to and from the mobility. The second biggest problem is packing space, and the amount of things I can bring with me, which is very limited. So on exchange, I had to buy clothes I couldn’t have taken from home, like bulky sweaters. The third factor where I score high on my ecological footprint while on Erasmus is heating, but at least that is only partly my fault – my roommate, coming from a warm country, likes to recreate a tropical climate in our room.

So what is it, I asked myself, that I can do? The result is a list designed to remind myself and inspire others to be more environmentally conscious, whether you’re on exchange or not.

1) No bottled water.

This piece of advice is of limited use to some people, I realise that. In the Netherlands and many other countries, however, the quality of tap water is excellent, often better than that of bottled water, and is promoted everywhere. Get yourself a reusable water bottle and fill that thing up with tap water.

2) Learn the local recycling system.

I know this one is a bother, especially if you grew up German and believe our recycling system was handed down from the old gods like ancient wisdom. Oftentimes there are little differences in how you recycle and what goes together. When I arrived in the Netherlands, I was shocked to find that they didn’t provide any information on the recycling system to the exchange students. Consequently, most of us just made use of the general waste bins. However, learning the recycling system means giving the still useful part of your garbage a second life.

3) Share, don’t buy.

That ten-euro espresso-machine, the three-euro pan, one-euro soup ladle – are they really necessary? If you live in a dorm like me, or an apartment with flatmates, it’s likely they are not. Instead of seeing if you can buy a cheap version of the thing you need, ask to borrow it (or let others know you have something you’re willing to share).

The Swiss organisation Pumpipumpe offers stickers you can put on your letterbox that let your neighbours know exactly what kinds of tools you have and are willing to borrow to others (make sure you’re allowed to put stickers on your letterbox), and a map where you can see who else in your neighbourhood is borrowing stuff. Currently, most of their supporters are concentrated in Switzerland and Southern Germany, but after all, we can all do our part to make the community bigger. It’s also a nice way to get to know your neighbours.

4) Buy secondhand.

This one might seem like a no-brainer, but consider this: where there are international students, there are loads of people looking to get rid of their stuff before they head home. Mostly, you can find these offers in local facebook groups, the dorm facebook group, or via people who know people. The green office of your university might also have information or organise events where you can buy or exchange used tools or clothes.

Be aware that not all offers at secondhand goods may be for you – they might be specifically targeted at poor people in the community, and an abundance of exchange students making use of their services can deprive people who need access to cheap clothes and such of those.

5) Buy locally.

The Netherlands have really great supermarkets: the produce is always fresh, there’s a good selection of fruits and vegetables and other products, and it’s generally enjoyable to shop there. But all of the goods are also wrapped in plastic, and especially the fruits and vegetables are a little on the expensive side.

In Leiden, there’s a nice alternative to the supermarkets: the local, twice-a-week market. You can get all your fruits and vegetables there, plus local cheese, eggs, sausages, and much more. It comes with the advantage of knowing that most of the good are from the region, and thus haven’t had to travel miles and miles to get into your shopping basket.

6) Buy seasonally.

Now, even the market isn’t perfect. If you see a batch of strawberries there in mid-december, you can be relatively sure that these weren’t grown in the Netherlands. Try to follow the seasons in what you’re going to cook – zucchini in late summer, pumpkin in autumn, root vegetables for the winter. It also means that you get to discover fruits and vegetables that you’ve never prepared before, and it varies your menu. It’s also a nice way to get to know your host country, and get to know their traditional dishes. There are a number of sites where you can inform yourself about seasonal cooking.

These are just a few ideas that I could come up with on the spot. I implemented a couple of these during my semester abroad, others I wish I had thought about. If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear about them!