How 'green' are San Diego labs?
Heather Buschman
Monday, 18 August 2008 02:20 UTC
There’s a Nature Network group dedicated to getting science to ‘go green’ and I was wondering – what are San Diego’s research institutes doing to reduce their environmental impact?
The Burnham Institute recently upgraded its heating and ventilation system to be more efficient, changed their landscaping, converted to waterless urinals and solar low-flow faucets, employs an eco-friendly janitorial company, and built its own recycling center.
UCSD is currently installing solar panels on top of many buildings and parking garages around campus. Shuttle buses currently run on 20% biofuel or compressed natural gas and a 100% biofuel shuttle (the “Greenline”) between the La Jolla and Hillcrest campuses is in the works.
Yet I cringe every time I pass UCSD’s Leichtag building at night and see it lit up like a Christmas tree and shake my head when the automatic sprinklers still turn on while it’s raining.
Research in general just seems wasteful – so much of what we use is over-packaged and disposable. Is there any way to get science itself to ‘go green’? What about where you work? Do you have any personal tips for making life in the lab a little lighter on the earth?
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Replies
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It’s great that local institutes are tapping into solar and low energy systems for their facilities, however I think Heather really hit on the crux of the scientific wastefulness issue in pointing out how much of what we use is “over-packaged and disposable.” Every week I look at the biohazard trash in my lab filled with disposable, individually wrapped once-sterile serological pipets and I think about how depressing it is that we can’t recycle more of our lab waste. In an era where we are more concerned about keeping our experiments “sterile” and contamination-free, I know no one is going to return to re-use glass pipets or anything, however there must be something we can do in the lab as individuals to make a difference. Personally, I always make a point of trying to recycle all outer plastic/paper packaging and anything recyclable that has not come into contact with hazardous materials, but I wonder if there is a way we can recycle more of our used disposable research products.
From what I understand, biohazard waste generally gets autoclaved to decontaminate it, and then is probably thrown out with regular waste. Well, just as we separate regular trash from recyclable trash, why can’t EH&S allow us to separate biohazard trash from recyclable biohazard trash? Then after decontamination, all the plastics from our 500mL filter units and empty media bottles could be recycled rather than just adding to the immense excess of waste that science creates on a daily basis. What do you think?
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I come across the same conflicting feelings as you have all shared on the forum. On the one hand I am providing a service that is good for the public welfare (advancing our scientific understanding of pathogens), and yet on the other hand I am contributing to the immense material waste that comes along with experimental science.
What I wonder is how are we going to get labs to apply more “green” thinking into their post-experimental clean-up, when many labs still have not adopted general energy-saving and reuse/recycle habits for non-experimental associated activities. It’s like many scientists understand the importance of being green outside of lab, but they are exempt from “green” habits inside of lab. Why can’t we turn the lights out when you leave the room? Does every paper we read really have to be printed out? And when we are done reading them, shouldn’t we dump them in the recycling bin versus the trash?
Anyways, here are some useful practices our lab has been trying to adopt in the lab:
-Ask other people in the lab/floor if they have to use the autoclave as well. That way the autoclave does not get used just for one tray or flask.
-Set-up several recycling bins around the offices and labs, so that it becomes easier to recycle.
-Installed automatic off switches for our lab/office/hallway/bathroom lights.
-FYI, there is an independent recycling company that has been coming around to UCSD to pick-up and recycle all pipet tip boxes.
-Pouring only as much water as you need in a cylinder, rather than dumping what you don’t use back down the sink.
-Pre-soaking several items to be cleaned together in a small bin so that they require less running water to be cleaned.
Any more suggestions people would like to share?
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