Caltech Green Labs
Green Labs News
We are happy to announce the official launch of the Green Labs program at Caltech. We are fully funded by the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering. Be sure to check out our growing catalogue of Green Labs resources, including our Action Plan, Green Labs Guide, Events (and Past Events!), and Green Labs Pilot Programs, as well as Caltech's Sustainability website for more information on Caltech's sustainability initiatives.
Please subscribe to our email listserv greenlabs@caltech.edu.
Caltech has taken notice of all of our hard work, and recently featured Green Labs for Caltech Weekly for Earth Month! Amazing work Green Labs!
We recently presented at the International Institute of Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) Annual Conference, held in Anaheim.
The Graduate Student Council also asked us to speak to graduate students about our program in November!
If you are planning on going away for the holidays, check out our Green Labs Holiday Checklist to ensure you're not wasting energy or water during your holiday! Have a safe and enjoyable break!
Green Labs Certification
Green Labs Events
Monthly meetings are held on the second Friday of the month from 12 - 1:30 pm in Chen 240A. Lunch is provided. Please don't forget to RSVP here.
Green Labs is launching a short-term Styrofoam Recycling Pilot Program!
Come to our fun Styrofoam Lawn Bowling event, and compete against your fellow labs to get the best score!
Want to earn even more points? Bring your clean Styrofoam to the Beckman Mall lawn for bonus points, and support our newest recycling program!
We will also have some refreshments for labs to enjoy while you "bowl"!
Click here for tips and tricks to make your event more sustainable.
Check out our Sustainable Restaurants Guide here! We are updating this Guide periodically, so check back for more sustainable restaurant ideas!
Check out our Sustainable Coffee/Dessert Guide here!
Click here for a Sustainable Event Vendor Agreement, asking vendors to be sustainable when they are on campus or are participating in events at Caltech.
Going away for the holidays? Check out our Holiday Checklist to ensure you aren't wasting energy or water during your break! Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!
Green Labs is calling for presenters for Lightning Talks on September 20th.
Green Labs is inviting labs to give 3-minute lightning talks highlighting sustainable initiatives their lab has implemented, or would like to implement, in their labs.
Furthermore, we have some exciting updates to share about the first year of our sustainable pilot programs, including a year-long study comparing samples kept in -70˚C vs. -80˚C! We are providing food, drinks, a raffle, and sustainable giveaways for attendees, and providing RocketBooks (sustainable notebooks) to our presenters.
If you would like to attend or present at this event, please use the link here to RSVP!
Green Labs is hosting a Lab Spring Clean Event From January through April!
Participants will compete to clean their labs from top to bottom by cleaning our freezers, organizing storage spaces, taking inventory of lab supplies, and much more! Green Labs is providing lots of resources, including magnets, laminated freezer checklists, chore suggestion lists, freezer inventory spreadsheets, and much much more!
Each participating lab will provide before and after pictures of their cleanup by midnight April 30 to greenlabsinfo@caltech.edu. Prizes will be given for two categories: the biggest before and after difference, and for the "weirdest thing found".
In May 2024, after the competition ends, Green Labs will invite all participating labs to have a sustainable lunch on us!
Click here to see all the resources available for cleaning your lab.
RSVP your lab by April 30! All Labs are welcome!
Green Labs is challenging labs to finish their Green Labs Certification by November 29. If your lab is certified by that day, your lab will be invited to come enjoy a holiday treat on us to celebrate your sustainability excellence!
To get certified, finish the easy, 30-minute Green Labs Certification and submit it to sustainability@caltech.edu.
Upon submission your lab will become Green Labs Certified! Your lab will be awarded a brag-worthy Green Labs Certified plaque to post outside your lab spaces. Labs that complete the Green Labs Certification can also expect to receive support from Green Labs, the division, as well as select vendors. Certified labs also have access to items such as free recycling bins, signage, and exclusive Green Labs events.
Going away for the holidays? Check out our Holiday Checklist to ensure you aren't wasting energy or water during your break! Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!
Green Labs Pilot Programs
Do you have a sustainable project you think Green Labs should fund? Look no further, as BBE is providing funding for sustainable pilot programs at Caltech!
If you or your lab has a sustainable project you would like help getting off the ground, please fill out an Application Form. For reference, here is an example form for the Lomi Composting project. Submissions officially open in June 2023.
Click here if you are interested in learning more about this or other Green Labs Pilot Projects.
Did you notice our Lomi tabletop composters in the Chen kitchen areas?
Green Labs has deployed it's first Pilot Program! We have installed Lomi tabletop composters in the three Chen kitchen areas in an effort to tackle food waste at Caltech. We will collect data from April to December on the usage of these devices to encourage adoption of sustainable lunchtime practices for labs in BBE. In just a few hours per run, these Lomi composters transform our food waste into usable compost dirt that our gardeners are able to use to fertilize the lovely gardens here at Caltech! Signs indicating what can and cannot go into our composters are posted near the garbage cans and near each Lomi.
Since April 2023, we have diverted about 1166 kg (2571 lbs) of food waste! The Lomi composters have reduced that food waste to about 331 kg (514 lbs) of dirt that the Caltech Gardens are using to fertilize the wonderful campus grounds.
Click here if you are interested in learning more about this or other Green Labs Pilot Projects.
Have you noticed new tip box recycling points near the mail boxes (or auditoriums *) in Alles, BI, Braun, Broad (*), Chen, and Spalding?
Green Labs has partnered with USA Scientific and Genesee to implement a pilot recycling program for pipette tip boxes and wafers! NO PIPETTE TIPS PLEASE
Please deposit ONLY your TipOne or Genesee tip boxes and wafers in the appropriate bins. USA Scientific or Genesee will either redistribute these plastics to other labs in need, or will recycle these wafers and boxes within their company. In this way, these vendors are making the end-of-life waste challenges of their own products a priority, thus closing the loop, and making our labs more sustainable!
Since May 2023, we have diverted over 3,642 gallons (13,786+ liters, about 1730 pounds) of plastic waste that would have otherwise not been recycled!
Contact Trinity Dorger when the USA Scientific bins are full. Here is more information on USA Scientific's sustainable pipette tip lineup. Here is more information on the work USA Scientific is doing to make their pipette tip boxes more sustainable.
Contact Mary Tutty when Genesee bins are full. Here is more information about Genesee's sustainability commitments, and some information about Genesee's biodegradable gloves!
Click here if you are interested in learning more about this or other Green Labs Pilot Projects.
Green Labs is calling for samples for a student-led study comparing samples held at -20˚C, -70˚C and -80˚C in the Chen Freezer Farm.
Samples from various labs will be tested and compared at intervals over a period of up to 5 years.
We hope that by conducting a controlled study at Caltech, we can provide evidence for labs to change their -80 ˚C freezers to -70 ˚C, ensuring an energy savings of up to 30%! This "chill-up" will also reduce the number of defrosts your freezer requires each year, and reduces the wear and tear on your freezer! Here are some additional resources suggesting that -70 ˚C is a safe storage temperature for many kinds of samples.
If you are interested in contributing a sample, please email us at greenlabsinfo@caltech.edu or fill our this Google Form!