Ogden is blooming with ways for students to become more environmentally friendly. Taking time to research what options are available in the local area can not only help consumers, but the environment as well.
Environmentally friendly actions might seem insignificant to a single family, but the deeds add up over time. Camille Wight, a WSU computer science junior, said she does her part by teaching her family to be more environmentally conscious.
“Our family recycles, and we also conserve power by turning off lights when we’re not in the room and turn our furnace down in the winter and AC off in the summer, except for really hot days,” Wight said. “On red air-quality days, we stay home most of the time and don’t use a wood-burning stove.”
Wight said she understands that sometimes being environmentally friendly can weigh more heavily on the wallet.
“If expense was not an option, I would like to buy everyone who has an old truck or car that spews out horrifying fumes a brand-new car,” Wight said. “I can’t stand when the air is bad.”
Environmentally friendly business are gaining popularity and opening up in most towns. Green the World, located on Historic 25th Street, offers products that leave buyers guilt-free about their impact on the environment.
“Everything I carry in my store is eco-friendly in some way,” said Beth Bell, owner of Green the World. “It is either made of a natural product, organic cotton, hemp, bamboo or made from a recycled product.”
Green the World offers Utah locals a place to let their products be seen and sold.
“I do accept local vendors, but require it has to be made from a recycled product,” Bell said. “They cannot go buy items to make them. To find products, I attend a Green Festival each year, and all products have to be certified to be part of the convention. This way, I know what I am buying is actually a green product.”
Bell said it’s simple for students to start living more environmentally friendly without having to spend too much money.
“One of the most important things, to me, is to quit buying bottled water and invest in your own canteen, and do not use paper or plastic bags but carry your own,” Bell said. “Recycle, reuse, reduce and just rethink. The age of the disposable items needs to come to an end. Share and recycle your clothes, walk instead of drive, eat local when possible, and just put a little more effort and thought into what you buy, throw away, eat, and every aspect of your day.”
Bell said natural products sometimes do cost more, but that they last so much longer, and most of them only have a few ingredients and are not water-based, therefore they last longer.
“It is not always necessary to buy eco-friendly products, but most of them are actually a better product, last longer, use postconsumer material, less packaging and the best thing — because it will help our planet Earth,” Bell said.
Students who want to do their part to help the environment without spending money can visit the Ogden Green Waste Disposal Site. The site offers a place for Ogden residents to dispose of green waste.
“Green waste is anything that grows in garden or yard,” said Jim Roberts, a Green Waste Disposal Site employee. “It costs three times less the amount to dispose of green waste here instead of at the landfill, and by dumping here, we aren’t filling up garbage cans, paying drivers or fueling trucks.”
The Green Waste Disposal Site is open Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ogden City encourages all residents to dispose of green waste at the site.
“I dump here because it’s the right thing to do,” said Bill Pierce from Ogden.
