Stockholm university

Sustainable living in your accommodation

In Sweden sustainable living is common practice. It is becoming increasingly common to purchase Eco-friendly products, consume less energy, sort your waste, etc. As a tenant in our accommodation, there is a lot you can do to help to contribute to the environment.

 

Picture of horses in a pasture.

When cleaning your accommodation, all detergents that you use will at some point end up in the nature. Therefore it is important to use eco-friendly products for cleaning and dishwashing. Normally an ordinary soft soap will be enough for everyday cleaning. Examples of some ecolabels in Sweden: Bra Miljöval, Svanen and Krav.

Never flush down solvent, paint or other chemicals in your sink or toilet. It is easy to think that sewage treatment plants will filter and remove all dangerous substances. This is however not the case and the chemicals will instead end up in the nature. Instead you will have to hand in these types of products to recycling stations that handles hazardous waste. Please also do not pour oil into the kitchen sink, as it causes a blockage in the sewage. Allow the oil to solidify and then pour it into your usual waste bag. If you have any problems with your shower drain, please see our instruction video on how to unclog your shower drain. If you have any problems with any other drains in the accommodation, please report this by making a maintenance request on your online accommodation account.

Two good examples to reduce your energy consumption:

  • Turning off any lights when you are not in the room, and to turn off any electronic devices when you are not using them.
  • Use electronic devices that use less electricity. Please use LED or Low-energy lightbulbs instead of ordinary lightbulbs, and when purchasing new electronic devices choose those with an eco-label, such as Svanen and TCO.

Please note that larger electronic devices such as electric radiators and countertop dishwashers are not permitted in the accommodation, due to large energy consumption and also because they can be a fire hazard. Please contact the Housing Office if you are unsure about what electronic devices you can use.

Did you know that by changing from an ordinary lightbulb to a LED lightbulb you will save up to 90% of the energy.

Washing your clothes uses a lot of energy, water, and chemicals. To minimize energy, water and chemical consumption, please take the following into account:

  • Always fill up the washing machine completely when you wash your clothes. Using the washing machine when it’s only half full of clothes will result in a waste of energy and water.
  • Use the lowest possible temperature, as this also contributes to minimizing energy consumption.
  • Make sure to use Eco labeled laundry detergent and please do not use fabric softener, as this does not easily biodegrade and can be toxic to the environment. Examples of ecolabels in Sweden are Bra MiljövalSvanen and Krav.
  • When dosing laundry detergent make sure to use a measurement kit in order to only use the amount needed.

Mail has a surprisingly big effect on the environment. All private mail, newspapers and advertising that you receive to your postbox consists of paper and plastic. Therefore we recommend you to make sure that you receive as much of these items as possible digitally. If you receive invoices regularly you can choose electronic invoice or direct debet in order to limit the use of paper. We have placed the sticker "Ingen reklam tack" on all postboxes, which states that you do not wish to receive advertising. If this sticker should be missing on your postbox, please contact us and we will provide you with a new sticker. 

Did you know that every year an average Swedish citizen receives 45 kilo of advertising in paper form. All yearly household advertising combined consists of 170 000 trees.

In Sweden you have great opportunities to recycle your waste. By sorting properly, the waste can be recycled and become a useful resource again. All of our accommodation areas have either a recycling room or a recycling station nearby, where you can sort plastic, metal, cardboard, glass, newspapers and household waste. Some of the areas also have facilities for bulky waste, electrical appliances and lightbulbs. Cans or bottles with returnable deposit should be recycled at your nearest supermarket. For more specific information about recycling and household waste in your facility, please read the information sheet for each housing area.

Please carefully follow the signs and instructions at the recycling room or recycling station, and remember that it is strictly forbidden to throw hazardous waste at the recycling rooms and stations, or to place any items on the ground by the recycling containers. Please see our Waste separation guidelines (348 Kb) for more information on how to properly sort your waste.

 

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