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.”