Laboratory Sustainability: A mini update
Hello All,
The Roslin Institute’s laboratory sustainability group aims to improve sustainability in the Roslin research labs. We would like to update you on some exciting sustainability updates for the building!
The group obtained funding from the Department of Social Responsibility and Sustainability’s “Small Grants Fund” to buy reusable, glass alternatives to the most common single-use lab plastics (bijou, universal and 15 and 50 mL centrifuge tubes), as well as infrastructure to process these.
*For the attention of lab-based researchers*
The glassware will be processed by the CSU and is now available on the wing ends. It has many uses, including:
Aliquots of tissue culture supplements,
Preparing buffers,
Diluting antibodies and standards,
Antibody incubations on membranes,
Microbial starter cultures,
and many more…
Please use the sustainable glassware in place of 15 and 50 mL plastic centrifuge (Falcon) tubes, and plastic bijou and universal tubes in your research whenever possible. These lab plastics alone generate over 800 kg of plastic waste each year so choosing to use more sustainable glass alternatives when possible and appropriate will significantly reduce the building’s production of research-related plastic waste.
See the posters in the lab anterooms and wing ends for further information on how to use the glassware and how they will be processed. Bottle brushes are also available by the lab sinks to help with processing. Please note, the bijou and universal glass bottles have aluminum lids so check whether the reagents you intend to use with them are compatible.
If you are interested in sustainability issues and want to get involved, then please get in touch.
Thank you for your help and support with this.
The RI lab sustainability group:
Jenny Fraser, Liz Thornton, Holly Hardy, Cathy McLaughlin, Claire Warren, Edith Paxton, Amy Pickering, Lucas Lefevre, Ela Nowak – Dabkowska, Willie Fowler, Margaretanne Dugan, Brian McTeir, and past members: Hazel Gilhooley and Lorna Bathgate.
We hope you all have a good weekend.
The Easter Bush Social Responsibility and Sustainability Committee
