You might be skeptical looking at plastic recycling in the lab and you probably should be. The expectation is that carefully sorted non-contaminated recycling collections will be remanufactured into products that will lower the demand for fossil fuel-based plastic. Unfortunately, according to the report, The Real Truth About the U.S. Plastics Recycling Rate, the conversion of plastic recycling collections into new materials, known as source reduction, has failed. Mixed plastic collections are especially at risk.
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Q and A with Polycarbin - The Closed-Loop Lab Plastic system sweeping Life science
If one sustainability conundrum vexes biologists, it is the environmental consequences of single-use lab plastic waste generated by laboratory work. In this conversation with Noah Pyles, we hear what sets Polycarbin apart from typical lab plastic recycling, how their system works, and why it matters…
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Going Green in a Wet Lab: Symbolic vs High-Impact Actions
After the spread of the Coronavirus, the absence of ‘business as usual’ forced us to live and think differently – and it made most (if not all) of us realize how human activities put incredible pressure on our planet. Now that many scientists are returning to the labs, maybe it’s time to put lab sustainability on the agenda in research? As a biochemist and environmentalist, I understand how essential labs are to experimental research and education within fields such as biology, medicine, and biotechnology, but I am also very much aware of the
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Add operational resilience to the life sciences by targeting cold shipping waste
The concept of ‘operational resilience’ factors in the ways to keep working in changing conditions. As a biologist, you might think of it as applying the principle of adaptation to your lab work. Today’s blog shares simple and effective ways that you can add resiliency to cold shipping biologicals.
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The CSL labs in Montreal are about 15 minutes away from the Biosphere, the only museum in the Americas dedicated to understanding and protecting ecosystems. Isn’t the Saint Lawrence river lovely?
ECCC Aquatics Labs ensured transparency for a new mixed lab plastics recycling program
A team of nine women working in the aquatics labs at the Centre St-Laurent (CSL) in Montreal has launched a lab plastic recycling program that overcomes some of today’s biggest challenges - #1 finding a service that will accept mixed lab plastics and #2 making the process user-friendly. Most importantly, this lab recycling program establishes transparency.
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Tackling Waste: 5 Steps to Less Plastic Waste in the Lab
Life sciences laboratories are another area in which plastic waste can be reduced. Approximately 5.5 million tons of plastic waste are produced every year in life sciences laboratories alone, including items like pipette tips, nitrile gloves and cell culture flasks. In the age of global waste pollution and the ubiquity of plastic in the world around us, this is definitely too much. It can’t all be changed, but improvements are possible in some areas.
Read MoreA lively and open discussion on sustainable laboratories with scientists
First off, people were fired up during the panel discussion. It was terrific. The audience and panelists critically examined typical lab practices and the effectiveness of ways to reduce waste. This is a great podcast to listen to over lunch. You can also read the full transcript of the green symposium podcast on the New England Biolabs web site, which includes helpful links to the resources mentioned.
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Green Labs will recycle any Boston area lab tip box collections with mixes of any manufacturer!
New recycling company Green Labs streamlines Boston lab collections
As the U.S. recycling industry undergoes a transformation, life scientists are looking for trustworthy, local recyclers to meet the challenge of processing lab plastic. Recycling systems work when they are convenient and space efficient. Boston area lab facilities have a new service option that does just that!
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