Leslie Coop CUHMMC August 2015. Private; Founded 1842 Approx. 2000 students 60 acres; 55 buildings 17 Residence halls.

Green Labs in a Small University

Leslie CoopCUHMMC

August 2015

Willamette University

•Private; Founded 1842•Approx. 2000 students•60 acres; 55 buildings•17 Residence halls

Student initiative Spring 2014 $25 per semester Opt-out available Funds student and employee engagement Advances Social, Economic, &

Environmental Sustainability

Green Initiative Fund

Awarded $11,900

Paid three students

Printing

Shipping

GIF Grant

1. Where are we now?

2. How can we improve?

3. Step-by-step improvement plan

Goals

Initial survey based on those used at Arizona State University and the University of Washington

Survey Monkey 20/38

Lab Survey

Less than 40%: Action needed

41-79%: Needs improvement

80-100%: Good!

Lab Survey

38%: Discuss sustainable practices with new lab workers and/or during formal or informal lab meetings

Communication & Education

25%: Engage in some sort of energy saving activity involving electronic devices or lighting.

◦Examples: Unplug devices not in use Use ambient daylight Power down equipment

Electronics

46%: Have a fridge, freezer, or both

100%: Cleaned & defrosted at least annually

Electronics

44%: Labs with fume hoods

75%: Keep sashes closed

75%: Do not use for storage

Fume Hoods

75%: Reuse envelopes, boxes, packing material

31%: Return packing material when possible 18%: Remove names from mailing lists 37%: Shop online 60%: Consolidate orders

Recycling & Waste Reduction

14%: Request vendors use recycled/reusable packaging

87%: Reuse or recycle paper 73%: Recycle plastic and glass containers 33%: Recycle other hard plastics 33%: Recycle plastic film

Recycling & Waste Reduction

67%: Reuse styrofoam/polystyrene 83%: Recycle or refill printer/copier

components 37%: Recycle E-media 27%: Recycle Gas cylinders

Recycling & Waste Reduction

60%: One person 40%: Review methods 14%: Check availability

Chemical Management and Ordering

74%: Use chemicals 83%: Exchanged Mercury Thermometers 44%: Sometimes use Green Chemistry

methods or microscale (research) 25%: Recycle or reuse chemicals 92%: Use less toxic, water-based cleaners

Chemicals

20%: Use plants 28%: compost when possible

Greenhouse

Plant Material

44%: Annually 18%: Monthly 12%: Weekly

78%: Use video- or Teleconferencing ocassionally

Travel for Work

25%: Strict Pack-In/Pack-Out 7%: Recyclable staking/flagging materials 6%: Recyclable sample containers

Field Work

66%: Use conservatively; report leaks 14%: Always use water misers 36%: Sometimes use water misers 6%: Only run dishwasher/autoclave when

full 62% Sometimes run dishwasher/autoclave

when partially full

Water Usage

“Protein extraction requires as few as 4 oocytes so done in less than 1 ml volume”

“...Using straps to attach sensors to people as opposed to double sided tape, pre-wrap and athletic tapes.”

What is Already Being Done?

“We have downscaled the amounts of chemicals we synthesize. We investigated an alternate technique that reliably uses less material so that we don't have to synthesize as much. This is important because we use ruthenium, a rare metal.”

What is Already Being Done?

“Reactions are performed on small scale to pilot an experiment”

“We attempt to use greener solvents when possible”

“We consider the hazards of our reagents when planning syntheses and use greener alternatives whenever possible”

What is Already Being Done?

“We take care to properly store materials so that spoilage is kept to a minimum”

“We segregate our waste streams”

What is Already Being Done?

“We have replaced silver nitrate & halides with sodium carbonate and calcium chloride.”

“We are replacing ammonium vanadate with ascorbic acid.”

“We are replacing eliminating the use of dichloromethane in the Intro Chem lab.”

What is Already Being Done?

Lack of Information about:Sustainable practices Energy saving activitiesOrdering optionsRecycling lab material

Waste ManagementWater saving practices

Where Are We Now

Lab Training Toolbox for each lab◦Checklist of Topics to Cover◦CHP◦SOPs◦RTK/GHS◦PPE & Hazard Assessment Tool◦Ordering Procedure◦Waste Management◦Green Lab Guide

How Can We Improve?

Signage◦ Lab doors◦ Refrigerators/Freezers◦ Satellite Waste Accumulation Areas

Labelingo Prepared solutionso Transferred materialso Waste containers

How Can We Improve?

RightCycle with Kimberly-Clark

http://www.kcprofessional.com/brands/kimtech/rightcycle

Glove Recycling Program