Here at Orlando Village, we understand that more and more students are trying to improve their awareness towards theEnvironment – and not just at our student accommodation in Bolton. However, we also know that student life can be hectic.
From studying for exams to socialising with friends, shopping for groceries, and cleaning your room at your student accommodation – finding the time to go green can seem like a bit of an uphill struggle.
The good news is that things like recycling old books, taking lecture notes on your phone or laptop instead of paper, buying a refillable water bottle, using recyclable shopping bags, and turning off taps can all help!
Some smartphone apps help you to take small steps towards protecting the environment, too. Given that we all spend so much time on our phones these days, this can be a real boon.
Here we take a closer look at a few of the environmently-friendly apps worth downloading.
3 apps to help students get thrifty and look after the environment
1. Too Good To Go
Cafes, restaurants, hotels, and shops throw out bags of fresh and delicious food every day – simply because it hasn’t been sold.
Too Good To Go are working to fight the problem of food waste by allowing customers to buy and collect the surplus food that such businesses don’t want, via the app.
Not only does the perfectly good food get eaten instead of wasted, but it’s also kind on students’ pockets – with prices as low as £2 for a mystery bag.
You won’t know what exactly is in your order until you pick it up – but that makes it all the more exciting!
If you’d like to join the 7.6 million people currently finding and saving lovely food, get the Too Good To Go App on Google Play or the App Store.
2. My Footprint: Climate & Nature
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to threaten our Environment. However, there are little things we can do that all add up to make a big difference.
The World Wide Fund (WWF) works to help local communities to conserve the natural resources that they depend on, transform markets and policies to ensure a more sustainable earth, and restore species and their habitats. On top of this, they have created the My Footprint: Climate & Nature app for Android and Apple devices.
This app helps you to calculate your carbon footprint – seeing what sort of impact you are having on the environment. You can then take everyday challenges to help prevent climate change, which are easy to incorporate into your busy schedule at uni.
The great thing about the app from WWF is that you can monitor your progress and share challenges with your friends and family. After all, the more people who know about it and get involved, the closer we get to saving our planet!
3. Emma – Budget Planner Tracker
One of the hardest things you have to learn when you go to uni is how to manage your money.
You might be tempted to buy a new top for that night out with friends at the weekend. Or have a takeaway delivered to your student accommodation in Bolton when you can’t be bothered cooking anything from scratch. However, you need to make sure that you have enough to cover the monthly rent and weekly food shops!
With that said, it’s worth downloading the Emma – Budget Planner Tracker app.
Available on Google Play and the App Store, this app can help you to budget like a pro, as well as avoid overdrafts, track your expenses, cancel wasteful subscriptions, and make the most of your student loan.
Emma allows you to visualise all of your accounts in one place. There’s no need to flip between different apps to check your bank balances.
Though this app is mostly about spending smart and being thrifty, knowing exactly what you’re spending your money on will allow you to take control of your finances, and make more eco-friendly choices where possible.
What else can you do?
Aside from downloading these 3 apps, there are plenty of other things you can do as a student to look after the Environment.
For example, you could start by encouraging your flatmates to recycle their waste in the correct bins:
- Beige for paper and cardboard
- Burgundy for plastic bottles, tins, aerosols, and glass bottles
- Blue for non-recyclable items
Another environmentally-friendly choice would be to avoid using single-use plastic at all costs. Instead, opt for reusable bottles and carrier bags.
If you need to get rid of anything, ask yourself if it can be reused or recycled. If it’s in good condition, you could take it to your local charity shop.
For more tips on how to be thrifty whilst staying at our Bolton student accommodation, contact the team on 01204 903 488.
