North Central College, Sustainably

Shy of biking or walking, railways are among the greenest ways to get around. Always be sure to consider whether Metra, with its conveniently-located station just northwest of campus, is an option for your trips around Chicagoland.

Metra’s weekday express trains will get you from here to Chicago’s Loop in as few as thirty-three minutes. Or, on the weekend, take as many Metra trips as you’d like for a flat $5 with Metra’s Weekend Pass.

Metra’s not just for going to the Loop, either; you can take Metra to Brookfield Zoo, to shopping in many suburban downtowns, or, by changing trains in the Loop, to Ravinia Park or the Chicago Botanic Garden.

You can also transfer, in Chicago’s Loop, to the ‘L’ and buses for getting all around the City of Chicago; the city’s hundreds of easy destinations include Wrigleyville, the Magnificent Mile, and dozens of beaches.

Students: discuss and act upon environmental issues important to the NCC community by joining Green Scene, meeting at 5-6pm on Tuesdays this term in Old Main room 521.

Using both sides of paper trumps printing on one side, but don’t forget that the greenest thing you can do with paper is to try using none at all. Don’t hesitate to speak up in your class or office and ask whether you can share your documents online instead of in print!

Did you know that the printers in the computer labs on the second floor of Carnegie Hall will print on both sides of paper (”duplex”) for you by default? Even better, the College’s print-credit system charges per piece of paper (5¢) instead of per printed side, so, while being green, you can also cut your printing costs in half!

Printing in Carnegie is way cheaper than printing in your Res Hall or at home, too; c|net’s most recent Printer Buying Guide estimates that a typical home inkjet uses 7¢ of ink per single-side page, which is to say 14¢ for both sides — and that’s before you’ve paid for the paper.

Carnegie Hall is at 10 N Brainard St, just east of WAC.

Unsure about what you can put in the College’s new, blue recycling bins?

We’ve designed a detailed, easy-to-read new sign (PDF, 100KB) about what’s recyclable that’ll soon appear above the taller “central” bins in each building on campus.