Reducing single-use plastic in neurobiology research

The Centre for Developmental Neurobiology lab is based at Guy’s campus and consists of 130 staff within 24 research groups. Its work ranges from research to build brains and their circuits to understanding the neuroscience of autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia to help inform new interventions.

Green Neuro Sustainability team

About four years ago the Centre identified several key sustainability issues in its work, such as high energy use from lab equipment, excessive single-use plastics, chemical waste, and inefficient waste and procurement practices. To tackle these it established the Green Neuro Sustainability team which has steadily grown to 12 members, including postdocs, PhD students, technical staff, administrative personnel and management. “The ultimate goal is to have a representative from each research group,” says Carlos Roncancio-Garcia, Senior Technician and Deputy Resource Manager at the Centre. “By having such a diverse group it helps ensure that ideas are practical and they meet the different needs across labs and research approaches.”

The team have found solutions through a combination of grassroots initiatives - such as equipment sharing and clear signage - alongside institutional support from King’s Procurement and Sustainability Teams. They have been involved in the Freezer Challenge and worked with the UniGreenScheme that reuses and recycles second-hand lab equipment. Hand-in-hand with the practical solutions the team has worked on creating a culture of sustainability through education, communication, and engagement. “Our approach has been gradual and collaborative,” explains Carlos. “Constantly learning, improving, and embedding changes that work for our teams and research practice.”

A focus on single use plastics

Understanding how the brain develops is a formidable task that relies on diverse research methods and specialised equipment. At the Centre, animal models such as fruit flies and zebrafish are indispensable, but they generate large volumes of single-use plastic.

In collaboration with - and fully funded by - the King’s Sustainable Research Team, the Centre launched an ambitious pilot project aimed at transforming the fruit fly facility into a zero-waste operation. Graduate teaching assistance (GTA) students are contributing to this effort by helping draft new standard operating procedures (SOPs) designed to eliminate single-use plastics and clinical waste.

It was estimated that the fly facility alone consumes about 7,000 plastic vials each month. Having ruled out recycled-plastic options, the pilot is testing the feasibility of transitioning to glass vials, beginning with an initial batch of 1,000 reusable vials. This process involves several stages (see box) that use additional resources, so careful monitoring is essential to evaluate its environmental, financial and operational impact.

Next steps for the pilot

The pilot will continue through the summer, with results expected by the end of the season. As part of this initiative, the aim is to replace plastic with glass vials, effectively eliminating the generation of clinical waste in the facility. This will serve as proof of principle for a zero-waste research approach that could be adopted not only across the fly facility but also in other research areas.

Another area where the team is tackling single-use plastics is in the use of overshoes in tissue culture spaces. Traditionally used across the board to prevent contamination, a new initiative aims to replace overshoes with sticky mats in labs where the contamination risk is lower.

This initiative has shown promising results. Initial feedback from users working in lower-risk areas has been positive, indicating that sticky mats can be just as effective as overshoes while offering a more sustainable alternative. Currently, the only tissue culture space in the Centre where overshoes are still in use is the one designated for virus work. However, the team is now exploring ways to limit their use to specific stages of virus production, ensuring safety while further reducing unnecessary plastic waste.

Recycling, energy saving and chemical amnesties

One of the first actions of the Green Neuro Sustainability Team was to address recycling practices in the laboratory and they have successfully embedded lab waste recycling across the New Hunt’s House building where they are based. They have also reused and refurbished surplus equipment worth over £2,500 through the UniGreenScheme. “This has achieved significant cost savings,” explains Carlos. “Alongside the environmental savings and the overall changes in how the Centre’s culture around sustainability.”

In terms of energy savings, the team has taken several steps to improve efficiency. They have optimised the use of autoclaves and dishwashers, reduced the number of –80 °C ultra-low temperature freezers by participating in the 2-for-1 freezer replacement scheme, and increased shared use of cold storage and specialist equipment across teams.

Notably, they have successfully adjusted the temperature of 80% of their –80 °C freezers to –70 °C, a widely recommended practice that significantly reduces energy consumption without compromising sample integrity.

Efficiencies have also been explored in the management of chemicals. The Centre recently conducted a chemical amnesty to safely dispose of unused or expired substances, reducing hazardous waste and improving lab safety. While a centralised reagent database system has not yet been implemented, it is currently in the planning and encouragement stage. Efforts are focused on getting research groups to adopt and contribute to the system, as many still maintain their own individual records.

The goal is to improve visibility, reduce duplication, and streamline chemical use across the Centre. “We’ve encountered some challenges along the way,” comments Carlos. “Which is understandable in a large Centre like ours with so many diverse research areas. But by integrating sustainability into inductions and using physical and digital noticeboards, newsletters, seminars, and regular emails, we’ve managed to keep key sustainability messages on everyone’s radar.”

In the future the Green Neuro Sustainability team are proposing to share best practices and scale up some of their initiatives. There are plans to be part of a project to share liquid nitrogen facilities across the campus and they are also hoping to host a third sustainability seminar and start a bi-monthly sustainability update email. “A lot of sustainability improvements can be achieved through centralising and sharing,” explains Carlos. “Although this requires a change of habits we have found that with effective communication and signposting people can see the benefits.”