Team:BostonU/GreenGEM/Contamination Safety ChemicalUse
Contamination, Safety, and Chemical Use
Proper handling and disposal of lab reagents is already well-documented for safety purposes, but with a little extra mindfulness, scientists can go the extra mile for sustainability. The practices documented in this Action Area are designed to maximize efficient use of reagents and minimize contamination of samples.
#1: Reduce!
The most important step in minimizing waste and energy consumption is reducing the amount of reagents and chemicals used, which in turn reduces need for autoclaving glassware and media.Plan your experiments wisely to minimize your use of lab reagents and chemicals. BostonU is using the LPA Light Box from the Tabor Lab to minimize our use of media. In using the LPA Light Box, we are able to test our strains using less than 40 mL of media before running a full experiment with the Khalil Lab's eVOLVER, which requires 3 liters of media per experiment. By minimizing our use of media, we not only reduce energy consumption, but maximize the efficiency with which we generate results.
#2: Consider Green Alternative Reagents
You can use online resources such as MIT's Green Alternatives Wizard to find environmentally-friendly alternatives to common lab reagents.[1] For example, an alternative to ethidium bromide, SybrSafe, is not carcinogenic and has a better signal-to-noise ratio for agarose gel staining than ethidium bromide. However, as with other green chemicals, SybrSafe is slightly more expensive than ethidium bromide. In Massachusetts, SybrSafe's up-front cost is subsidized and offset by waste disposal. Green reagents are safer and produce yields greater than or equal to those of common reagents.
#3: Aliquot From Large Bottles
Making aliquots from large bottles reduces the need to autoclave media in the case of contamination. If a large bottle of media is contaminated, the entire bottle has to be disposed of and fresh media must be made and autoclaved. Reducing the amount of autoclave cycles cuts down on energy consumption. [2] Making small aliquots from larger bottles eliminates the need to make fresh media in the event of contamination.
#4: Look for the ACT Label
The ACT Label is a label which assesses eco-friendly manufacturing and use of lab consumables, chemicals, and equipment, audited and verified by myGreenLab. [3] The ACT label scores products from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest score. A database of chemicals, consumables, and equipment assessed by their ACT score is hosted on myGreenLab's website.
#5: Dispose of all reagents safely
Make sure that all reagents are disposed of safely. This includes separating into appropriate waste streams to avoid cross-contamination or unwanted chemical reactions. For example, most growth media can be poured down a sink, but cells must be killed with bleach before being disposed of. Safe waste processing prevents environmental damage from contamination, and helps avoid incurring extra costs for hazardous waste disposal.