A plastic-free research lab is (almost) possible

The elimination of plastic disposable water bottles and bags is just the start: it is increasingly clear that to bring about a substantial reduction in the consumption of this material an integrated approach involving all sectors is necessary. And whereas perhaps we once took it for granted that the problem regarded only the production sector, now we know that this isn’t so.

One environment in which this problem has been ignored for a very long time, for example, is the scientific research laboratory where instruments used in experiments, bottles, gloves, pipettes and other plastic devices of all kinds are both indispensable and disposable, especially in the biomedical sector. Counterintuitively, plastic is reused less frequently in these places of learning and progress which are therefore becoming a huge source of waste that we can no longer ignore.

The problem in numbers

This problem was first brought to light by the scientists themselves in a 2015 article in leading industry magazine NatureA team of researchers from the University of Exeter, in the UK, calculated the total amount of plastic used and not recycled in their department, the Biology department. The 280 scientists in the department had generated over 250 tonnes of plastic in the previous year alone.

Projected globally, this could equate to at least 5.5 million tonnes of plastic a year: the combined tonnage of around 70 cruise liners, according to the authors of the study. Just under the total amount of plastic we manage to recycle in a year.

 

Change is in the air

In the last few years, the images of vast open-air dumps on beaches all over the world, the incredible garbage patch in the middle of the Pacific and the awareness of the spread and danger of microplastics have led to significant changes, if not yet in our behaviour then at least in terms of public opinion. This includes the academic sphere and, more generally, the research sector.

Various groups of scientists have zeroed in on this issue and made it their mission, not only with the creation of awareness days and hashtags like #LabWasteDay but also through the launch of study projects targeted at developing strategies for replacing plastic in laboratories.

Examples with honours

One of the first was the University of Leeds, which has decided to become single-use-plastic-free by 2023, and they were closely followed by Imperial College London, which has opted for 2024. Not just biodegradable coffee cups and green dishes in the canteens, therefore, but also minimising the number of work instruments that cannot be reused or recycled to an absolute minimum.

Imperial College’s most interesting projects include the creation of a platform that provides employees with information and support for optimising and making their labs increasingly green: a plan which was immediately extended to numerous other universities and institutions and which has become a benchmark for those that accept the challenge of sustainability.

 

The involvement of industry

Not just good practices: the research system also needs businesses that are able to supply instruments with reduced environmental impact as soon as possible and at accessible prices. So it is a green light for investments in recyclable devices but also a new generation of gloves, pipettes and instruments in bioplastic, those produced from organic and plant matrices like cereal waste or fruit peel from the food sector, just as is happening in the packaging sector.