If you work in a lab, manage a lab, study in a lab, and you want to make it more sustainable, Green U is here to help! Here are the steps you will need to take:
Step 1:
- You reviewed this CHECKLIST, and posted the Green Lab flyer in a visible part of the lab. - Review the list with your team, and call our office for questions: 305-284-8520.
Step 2: - Invite Green U for a 15 min Sustainability 101 presentation and an audit. contact theGreen U office .
FREEZER CHALLENGE 2021
The University of Miami’s Office of Sustainability challenges you to participate in the Freezer Challenge 2021! The Freezer Challenge is a cold storage competition, on its fifth year, for laboratories run by the non-profit organizations My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL). You can find more detailed information by following this link: Freezer Challenge 2021. The challenge runs from January 1, 2021 to July 1, 2021 and it is designed to encourage all labs to recognize the benefits of good cold storage management.
You can qualify to participate if your lab uses ultra-ultra low temperature freezers (-150C), ultra-low temperature freezers (-70C to -80C), lab freezers (-40C to -20C), refrigerators, or cold rooms, and your lab can earn points by completing other actions. Labs also earn points for sharing information about their own best practices regarding sample storage and inventory. Awards will be given to those who have done the most to save energy and improve their sample storage. You can find all about the challenge here. Click here to read the Freezer Best Practices recommendationsfrom UM’s Miller School of Medicine experts. REGISTER HERE!
WASTE DIVERSION: - Order a complete audit with Green U (email greenu@miami.edu). Green U will help you with single stream recycling guidelines and signage (print here). Make sure you have 1 small blue recycling bin per counter and 1 blue slim Jim (24 Gal) for each section. - Reuse shipping polystyrene boxes, as well as pipette tips boxes (buy refillable ones). - Use RED BIOHAZARD BAGS ONLY for the disposal of biomedical or biohazardous waste. For proper segregation,register for the “Biomedical (Biohazardous) Waste Disposal” CBL in ULearn.
REMEMBER: Disposing of 1 Lbs. of red bag waste costs SEVEN TIMES more than for 1 Lbs. of regular trash. NON-CONTAMINATED WASTE should be tossed in a regular trash bin; Place pipette and tips in a box and toss in trash bin to avoid poking.
Dr. Karoline Briegel, Principal Investagor in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building decided to pay a little extra to recycle pipette tip boxes with VWR program. Unfortunately, most of #5 plastic containers are not accepted in our Miami Dade County Recycling system, but thanks to green champions like Dr. Briegel, we find new ways of addressing challenges.
If budget allows, recycle your pipette tips boxes with VWR.
Make sure you have a small recycling bucket close to counters for those paperboard boxes and empty non-contaminated plastic containers.
Close the sash of your fume hood, it wastes a lot of energy.
Have a reuse area for glass and plastic containers.
Post the green Lab flyer in a visible area of your lab.
Try to use refillable pipette tips boxes and reuse them.
Green Lab Toolkit:
- Greener Chem Alternatives To reduce the environmental impact of your experiments, check out these great resources for chemical substitutions: ACS Solvent Selection Tool: Provides the ability to interactively select solvents based upon the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the solvent's physical properties. MilliporeSigma DOZN: An online tool that identifies opportunities for green chemistry substitutions for individual chemicals and for chemical processes OSHA - Transitioning to Safer Chemicals: A methodology for identifying safer alternatives Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse: A list of excellent resources to identify hazardous materials and more benign alternatives
Challenge 
