Reduce, reuse, recycle. It’s the phrase we all learned in elementary school to teach us to recycle, but the reduce and reuse aspects are becoming more important. In January of last year, China stopped accepting most U.S. recycling for processing, and UC Santa Cruz has not been recycling anything on campus because most recycling bins are contaminated with trash (read more on page 6).
Now that less recycling is actually being recycled, there’s a large chance newspapers will go straight to the landfill. Here’s how you can reuse your issues of City on a Hill Press and save on things you’d buy otherwise:
Wrapping paper can be expensive and usually gets thrown away after one use. If you see an especially colorful or intriguing page in CHP, save the $10 and extra trip to CVS by reusing the pages as wrapping paper.
Use it as a Placemat
If you’re eating something messy, put a copy of CHP under your plate for easy cleanup, instead of using extra paper napkins.
Cover Your Books
Don’t damage that rented textbook! Make a free book cover from these pages to protect it from your backpack.
Cover Your Belongings and Yourself
If the rain hits and you don’t have an umbrella, use the paper to wrap your laptop and cover yourself before heading out. It won’t last long, but it’ll help in a pinch.
Instead of buying bubble wrap to ship fragile things or wrap your dishes while moving, use a few layers of newspaper to keep them safe. If you need to wrap a lot of breakables, we won’t judge you if you take a few extra home.
Hang it on Your Wall
Need some decoration in your room? Hang a couple of bright CHP covers up and commemorate the times we’re in. That’s what our staffers do.