About five years ago, I started to make my lab practices more sustainable. I can tell you, it was quite a journey so far...
Still, whenever I talk to other sustainability enthusiasts or attend talks, I discover new tips.
Hence, I have collected some lesser-known yet impactful practices for you today:
Today's Lesson: Unique Green Practices
Less known actions you can implement in your work
Number Of The Day
When pipetting a single time, we inevitably encounter six sources of plastic waste: A) the packaging B) the tip box, C) the tip itself, D) the tube or plate, and long term, E) the pipette. At first, this realization might feel overwhelming. However, by taking simple steps to reduce tip usage, we automatically create a compounding effect, cutting down waste across other areas!
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Lesser-Known Sustainable Practices
Today, let us discuss 3 simple things you can do to save plastic and 3 steps to enhance your waste management.
Pipetting Smarter (Literally)
A simple yet effective trick is to pipette twice with a smaller pipette & tip.
E.g., when having to pipette 350µL, choosing a P200 instead of a P1000 and pipetting twice. While it may seem trivial, using smaller tips halves plastic waste, making a noticeable difference over time.
Obviously, even larger savings can be achieved when switching from a serological pipette to a P1000.
Savings: ≈0.2g (P200/P10) | 0.4g (P1000/P200) | 3.5g (1mL/P1000) | 7.5g (5mL/P1000) of often non-recyclabe plastic
Pouring Instead Of Pipetting
When preparing samples for microscopy, we typically fix and dehydrate them as a preparation procedure for cutting. During this process, samples must be washed, often within 6, 12, or 24-well plates.
Since washing, fixation and dehydration procedures are conducted “until completion” (i.e., immerse sample completely and run for hours/overnight), we usually add “enough liquid” in the mL range.
This gives us the chance to pour our solutions instead of using serological pipettes.
Saving: ≈4-9g of non-recyclable plastic per step
Reusing Tubes For Storage
For small volumes of standard solutions like PBS or Tris buffer that we use for our assays or gels, storing them in glass bottles isn’t always practical.
Instead, we often use 50 mL tubes. Remember, we can refill and reuse them multiple times.
Savings: ≈12.8 g of potentially plastic per use.
- Now, let us talk about optimizing trash treatment -
The Table Trash Tip
Instead of throwing away an entire trash bag when it’s full, simply empty the contents into the larger bin. Check whether you have biohazardous substances in there or whether it can go to recycling.
Similarly, if you pipette water, dispose of the tips in the plastic recycling bin (of course, only when working outside biosafety areas…).
Savings: ≈2.1g of non-recyclable plastic per bag
Separating Plastic Caps
For some experiments, we remove the caps of our tubes right away, for instance when isolating cells and mashing samples through a mesh that sits on top of the tube.
Instead of throwing the caps in the “lab waste” dispose them in the plastic waste bin - they don’t need to be autoclaved and burned.
Unwrap At The Right Time
Depending on local regulations, plastic used in labs may be considered contaminated once it enters the workspace or touches a bench.
No offense to the company, just found this picture online. To be frank, there are probably more than enough scientists who would start to worry if just 1 piece of packaging would be left out…
Thus, remove as much external packaging as possible before bringing materials into the lab. For example, serological pipettes are often individually wrapped—unwrap the outer package-layers just outside the lab to reduce unnecessary plastic waste.
Applying The Knowledge
Remember, “Many a little makes a mickle”.
Given that an average wet-lab scientists easily uses 40-200 pipette tips and dozens of tubes a day, savings easily add up to kg of plastic waste a year.
Personally, I have successfully reused tubes for e.g., my SDS-PAGE gels preparations for over six months without issues.
Above that, in my own experience, sustainability can also come with unexpected advantages for our data: When preparing microscopy samples, I was told to use parafilm for blocking and staining samples overnight to prevent evaporation of the fluid.
Of course, for some applications, it will make sense to use Parafilm. However, do not just accept it because it is “lab culture”. That picture comes from this protocol.
However, we were keeping our samples in a sealed box with a water reservoir and in a cold room overnight. Making the parafilm unnecessary.
Skipping the parafilm on my samples not only saved plastic but it also improved my sample integrity. As I worked delicate structures (e.g., ear skin), it reduced the damage or detachment caused by the shear forces when removing parafilm. Less is sometimes more!
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If you have a wish or a question, feel free to reply to this Email. Otherwise, wish you a beatiful week! See you again the 19th : )
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