Green Labs
Green Labs
Eli Preston is the leader of Green Labs for UPenn and works to improve the sustainability of the Murray Lab, which they manage. They campaign for campus-wide changes to lessen the huge energy and landfill impact that labs have. Penn Labs account for 37% of Penn's energy usage. Within Penn Labs, 19% of energy is used for cooling.
Check out the Green Labs Guide
Glove & Mask Recycling
Because gloves and masks cannot normally be recycled with mixed municipal or campus recycling, there are specialty mail-in recycling programs. You can now find glove & mask specialty recycling boxes around campus. Please feel free to add your gloves and masks to the boxes in the lobby on the 4th floor of CRB.
Because of Eli & their Green Labs Executive Committee, UPenn is #1 in the country for glove recycling.
Glove & Mask Recycling at Penn
Too Cool for School (Freezer Energy-Saving Campaign)
Currently Eli & Emily Meymand & Emily Cribas are driving a push to get freezers switched from -80ºC to -70ºC, as this will reduce freezer energy consumption by up to 30-40%. It is also best for your freezers (and the same for your samples) and reagents to be -20 (vs -30ºC or -40ºC) There are many other freezer maintenance changes you can make to save energy. Please read these slides by Meymand and listen to the science and the earth on this issue.
Check out more info on how to save tons of energy and increase freezer lifespans with Meymand, Cribas & Preston's Freezer Campaign
Check out the International Freezer Challenge for labs:
International Freezer Challenge
Banning Plastics
Eli dreams that someday at least UPenn - if not the entire city/state/country - will ban plastics, like UCL did:
"UCL to ban crisp packets and petri dishes in crackdown on single-use plastic”:
Article on University that banned single-use plastics:
Reusable Glass Petri Dishes
The Murray lab uses reusable glass petri dishes to reduce landfill and energy waste.
Learn more about that journey here:
How to switch to reusable petri dishes (article & video)
Eli using their glass petri dishes. (all photos by Scott Spitzer/ Penn Today)
Green Labs Resources
Check out many suggestions on how to make you lab more sustainable and getting your lab Green Labs certified here:
Email Eli for more information on sustainability in labs and in life.
Penn Today article on Green Labs / Eli
Specialty Recycling in Philly
Would you like to know where to recycle specialty items like electronics, batteries, glasses, pens, light bulbs, printer toner?
Take these items here: Specialty Recycling
Unusable shoes -> take to Philadelphia Runner
Plastic bags & flexible plastic packaging -> take to grocery stores, Drexel gym, Lowe's
Eli's 5 Rs
In life and lab, Eli wants you to remember their 5 Rs, in this order:
Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose, Recycle