February 7, 2012

By Madison Alcedo

Sustainahouse, a house occupied by six MU students who have dedicated their lives to living sustainably, is preparing for a new year.

A concept created by resident and senior Claire Friedrichsen, Sustainahouse is a project that aims to spread knowledge to the public and students on how to reduce energy, water and waste in homes, residence halls and apartments to ultimately save money.

“I wanted to create a space at MU where students interested in conservation could live together and could combine their intellect to further sustainable living,” Friedrichsen said. “And because one of my passions is hiking, I would like to conserve the places I visit for future generations.”

The six residents all have their own responsibilities in the house and share their various projects on the Sustainahouse blog.

Resident and Sustain Mizzou President Kat Seal said one of their projects, managing waste, is easier than it sounds.

“What we’re doing are very practical, simple steps that one can take towards living a more sustainable life,” she said. “You can truly make a larger impact within communities by just making a difference yourself.”

Managing waste is more elaborate than just recycling, Seal said.

“We have recycling for the one and two plastics, for aluminum, for the five and six plastics, scrap metal, plastic wrappings and we give our food scraps to the two chickens out back,” she said. “Waste management is truly important because the world’s waste can really be utilized to create something else, it doesn’t just need to be wasted.”

On the energy side of the house’s sustainability, the residents monitor their energy consumption on a device connected to their Internet and electrical outlets.

“To be cautious of water and electricity consumption, we unplug all appliances like the microwave after use and don’t flush the toilets every time,” resident Li Tang said. “We also never use a dryer to dry our clothes, we just hang them on a clothesline.”

The Sustainahouse residents have their system down to the point where every aspect of their life reflects a sustainable way of living.

“We try to implement sustainability in every part of our lifestyle, so for food we tend to buy bulk organic to cut down on packaging which also makes it cheaper for ourselves,” said Henry Hellmuth, Sustain Mizzou’s vice president of programming. “We also never drive to campus, we try to ride our bikes to the grocery store, we use reusable grocery bags, we try to buy products that we know are made in the most sustainable way possible, we use less hot water and we drink out of the tap and carry around reusable water bottles instead of buying plastic ones.”

The Sustainahouse’s main goal is to share ideas with other students on how to live for less.

“We really have saved a lot of money on our utility bills compared to other people,” Hellmuth said.

But for the residents, this house isn’t just about sustainability. It’s about community, especially on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. when they host a community potluck dinner, Seal said.

“The potluck dinners are a really great community building activity,” Hellmuth said. “We get to meet a lot of people, have fun and eat. It’s an untraditional way of socializing.”

The Sustainahouse is looking for six new residents for the upcoming school year. Applications are due Wednesday.

“The way we live doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore,” Hellmuth said. “It now seems habitual.”