A new student-specific sustainability course, run by Dr Maureen Howard, will offer solutions to these challenges.
The six-week course, run in the Otago University Students Association Clubs and Societies Centre, will begin next month.
Sustainable transport, electricity savings, growing vegetables, reducing waste and easy systems for waste sorting and recycling will be covered. Dr Howard had run similar courses under the Sustainable Living Programme, which proved popular with the community.
However, rather than covering permanent changes to homes, such as installing solar generation, the focus would be on "things people can do in a rental situation" such as planting gardens in containers and making garden-free compost.
"Students who want to live more sustainably are faced with the challenge of living in rental properties where they can't make huge changes to where they live.
"Most are also living on a very tight budget. Our solutions reflect these challenges," she said.
Thirty people had signed up for the course so far.
Among them was Tarsh Turner, an environmental management student who wanted to learn more sustainability tips.
She found it hard to make changes in a flatting situation and hoped to learn of some different ones on the course.
Students in general were interested but it was often put in the "too hard basket" because of time, lack of interest from other flatmates, and the inability to make permanent changes while renting, she said.
