Sustainability
At the department’s annual “State of the Department” address, Professor and Chair Jeff Johnson asked “What is the department doing to be sustainable?” Inspired by this question, the department formed a new Sustainability Committee in August to guide and inform our efforts to become more sustainable. The committee is comprised of faculty, staff, graduate students, and post-docs from across the department. Since its inception, the committee has been working towards improving sustainability practices on both small and large scales within the department, and collaborating with groups in Chemistry and across campus. One project involves collaborating with the UNC Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling, and UNC Green Labs, to educate the department members on UNC’s recycling policies with the goal of increasing recycling participation across the department.
Pictured, from left to right: Nicole Parsley, Lauren McRae, Jessica Coleman, Marcey Waters, Kelsey Kean, Hannah Ferguson Johns, Katherine Albanese, Emilia Leon, and Mandy Melton. Not pictured from the Sustainability Committee: Tyler Motley, Ian VonWald, and Randy Simmons
Following the lead of our teaching labs, research labs are now widely participating in nitrile lab glove recycling through VWR. Additionally, the department is participating in a pilot program with Thermo Fisher Scientific to recycle plastic films. Along with the Social Activities Committee, the committee works to make department-wide events greener, with a focus on reducing waste and using compostable or reusable items whenever possible. For the future, the committee has set their sights on establishing composting across the department, providing recommendations for sustainable practices in the laboratory, and ultimately working towards having solar panels in use across the chemistry building complex. In a big department like ours, even taking these small steps towards reducing, reusing, and recycling are making a huge impact!
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