GOING GREEN–WHAT DOES A SUSTAINABLE LAB LOOK LIKE?

BY CAROLINE WOOD

From gloves and gels to pipette tips and petri dishes: labs are notorious for the amount of waste they generate as well as the energy they consume. But can researchers reduce this without affecting the quality and reproducibility of their work? To find out, Caroline Wood took a tour of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford. Here, the Department’s dedicated Green Group have shown that even small actions can add up to make a big difference on the environmental impact of lab research.

My visit starts in the foyer of the Dunn School, where I meet Saroj Saurya, who leads the Department’s Green Group. Formed in January 2020, the group’s 20–30 members are diverse—ranging from PhD students and professors to admin staff to facility managers—but they are united in their commitment to explore all possible ways of reducing the Department’s environmental impact.

“For a long time, we have had a drive to reduce the resource and energy footprint of our research,” says Saroj. “So, during the period when we started returning to the labs after the COVID-19 lockdowns, we took the opportunity to completely reassess our working practices.”

LOW-IMPACT LABS

Green Group member Emile Roberts takes me to one of the labs to show me the sustainability measures introduced here:

● Recycling points for plastic and paper, and separate streams for brown and clear glass. Prominent posters make sure everyone knows what can and can’t go in.

● Every fume hood has a “Shut the Sash” sticker (one US study found this reduced energy costs by around $1300 per fume hood each year).

● 2Switch off when not in use” stickers are everywhere, for instance on Thermocyclers and Thermoblocks.

● Reusable wooden toothpicks are used for picking bacterial colonies from the plates, rather than single-use plastic pipette tips.

● Reusable glass spreaders or beads are used to spread bacteria on agar plates rather than single-use plastic spreaders.

● Plastic serological pipettes have been switched to glass and are washed in a laboratory dishwasher with a special pipette holder.

● 15/50 mL Greiner tubes are decontaminated, washed and autoclaved to be reused.

● Freezers are scraped down regularly, defrosted as and when required, and kept as full as possible to increase efficiency (freezer blocks fill any empty spaces).

● Plans on fridge and freezer doors show where everything is, allowing people to locate items as quickly as possible.

● As −80°C freezers wear out, they are upgraded to more efficient models that can operate at −70°C, and more than halve energy costs.

● Uncontaminated nitrile and latex gloves and masks are sent for recycling by TerraCycle and appCYCLE to be made into plastic pellets that can be used to make different plastic products.

“Some of these procedures do require a little extra effort, for instance to separate items that can be reused from those that can’t, but people have adopted them into their working practices surprisingly quickly,” says Emile. “We have received really positive feedback, and many people have said how glad they are to take a more active role to reduce our environmental impact,” he adds.

Stocks And Stores

We then move to the prep labs and stores where there is a similarly comprehensive approach:

● All brands of pipette tip boxes and tip box inserts are collected for recycling.

● Boxes of materials to be autoclaved are sent only when completely full.

● Reagents are bought in bulk to reduce both costs and transport emissions. Where possible, solutions are made up from powders rather than being purchased in liquid form, again reducing transport emissions.

● Instead of individual labs having their own supplies of reagents, many reagents are provided communally from a bulk stock. Researchers sign out what they use with a grant code and the stores team handle the financial admin.

● All printers use only 100% recycled paper and empty printer cartridges are refilled with ink on site then reused.

● Lab coats are washed by Oxwash, a company who use environmentally friendly detergents and collect/deliver by bicycle.

● Brown glass bottles and 2.5 L bottles are returned to suppliers for reuse.

Those who might worry about contamination from reusing tubes have little to fear, Emile says. “We even analysed tubes that had been cleaned for reuse using mass spectrometry and found virtually no residues.”

But “reuse” goes beyond lab consumables, as Emile explains: “The workshop team are really proactive when it comes to repairing equipment and they only throw things away as a last resort. Even if something is broken beyond repair, they will use as much as possible for parts and spares.”

He then shows me what becomes my favourite part of the tour, what is affectionately called “The Green Room”. This storeroom acts as a central repository where anyone can bring equipment, reagents and lab consumables that are no longer needed (e.g. when a lab group leaves the Department), making them available to anyone who can use them. I’m impressed by the sheer range of items on offer, from near-full RNA preparation kits to desk chairs, and Emile tells me that much of it will soon be claimed. “The rate of turnover here is incredible, and it has really reduced the amount we have to buy in. We also have an email mailing list where people can request to borrow a reagent they only need a small amount of, such as a restriction enzyme or primer. There is a strong culture of sharing and helping each other out.”

A Wider Culture Of Sustainability

In the communal areas, the green ethos extends beyond the many plants that have a home here. The café has a dedicated food waste bin and offers discounts to those who bring their own containers (a stack of communal mugs makes this very easy). A bring-and-share table allows people to drop off any unwanted or surplus items, and the departmental bike hire scheme OxBikes allows any member to rent a bicycle for just £2 a day. Emile adds that the Green Group have hosted various sustainability-themed events, including plant and clothes swaps, a sustainable suppliers exhibition and a refill station for toiletries and cleaning products.

According to Saroj, both top-down and bottom-up support within the Department have been critical factors in the success of the green measures. “For instance, the Heads of Department allocated funding specifically for green measures. Amongst other things, this funds the recycling collections for the latex gloves. Meanwhile, many of the PhD and early-career researchers have been very active in proposing new ideas.”

Whilst it is impossible to completely eliminate the environmental impact of lab work, as Saroj says: “When everybody is on board, our collective efforts can make a huge difference. And I’ve found that ‘greener’ labs also tend to be happier and more collaborative places to work as well.”

Find Out More

The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) is a recognised accreditation scheme that helps research groups to identify and adopt strategies to reduce their environmental impact, and to be recognised for doing so. It covers equipment, space use, ventilation, procurement, waste, samples and chemicals. The programme runs yearly, enabling groups to progress through bronze, silver and gold levels. To find out more and get started, visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/ case-studies/2020/aug/take-part-leaf.