Green Labs
Did you know that labs use 10x more energy and 4x more water than offices, and make up 2% of global plastic pollution?
This much waste is not only detrimental to the environment, but also eats away at lab budgets. Reducing plastic waste in labs by just 2% would prevent 100 million metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year.
In other words, saving in every little area counts. Effective actions can be as simple as unplugging equipment, consolidating incubators, and organizing and regularly defrosting freezers. You can also turn up freezer temperatures to save energy. A -80°C freezer uses as much energy as a typical home in one day, but turning it up to -70°C can reduce energy use by 30%. Closing the sash on a fume hood adds up too since one fume hood uses as much energy as 3 homes each year.
You can save money and reduce waste by using the Rheaply app to source surplus lab equipment from other researchers around Rutgers. Other tips include choosing reusable materials instead of disposable when possible, using pipette tip racks to reuse tip boxes, and generally recycling the appropriate materials.
To learn more about sustainable practices in the lab, visit the My Green Lab website. My Green Lab is a non-profit organization created to promote sustainable science, with competitions and certifications geared towards incorporating environmentalism into scientific research.
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