Lab Spring Clean Event

1. RSVP your lab here or using the link below.
2. Clean your lab! Please feel free to use the resources we've compiled below.
3. Take before and after pictures during your lab clean up.
   1. Note any "weird things found" and take pictures (if appropriate).
4. Submit your pictures to [email protected] (or using the link below).
5. Come celebrate with us in May once the competition is over!
6. (YES, it's that easy!)

Check out the most current chore suggestion list! This list also includes tabs for assigning tasks for your cleanup day! If you have additional suggestions, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

We also have digitally fillable chore maintenance schedule guides and suggested chore maintenance schedule guides, alongside our current chore suggestion list Google sheet! This list also includes tabs for assigning tasks for your cleanup day! If you have additional suggestions, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

1. Green Labs has made a schedule and living-document chore list that labs can use to keep organized and stay on top of chores. This list has suggested timelines as to when each chore can be completed to keep on top of everything.
2. We also suggest regularly updating lab chore lists! Google Docs or Sheets shared on a Google Drive available to all lab members is a great way to make chore lists available and visible to the lab, so everyone in lab knows who is responsible for what in the lab. You can also add information to these forms so folks know when to complete these chores (daily, weekly, yearly, etc.).
3. Check out the resources below on specific topics to help keep your lab organized and efficient.
4. We are also making available digitally fillable inventory sheets or blank printable inventory sheets for freezer inventories. We recommend laminating these sheets or putting them in a sleeve protector to keep them clean and legible.
5. You can search for or divest lab items such as surplus supplies, chemicals, equipment, furniture, and more with our new (beta) Green Labs Marketplace!

If needed, you can book an extra freezer by emailing [email protected]!

1. We recommend making sure your alternate freezer is at your required temperature before attempting a clean-out.
2. Take a picture of your freezer so you remember where everything went before the transfer.
3. Move freezer racks into the new freezer using a cart, keeping the order the same as in the original freezer if possible.
4. Put any loose items (in doors, on shelves etc.) in bins and transfer those to the alternate freezer.
5. Turn off your now-empty lab freezer and set out trays or bins to collect the melting ice (we like to use the autoclave bins!). Cloths can be used to direct the drips as well. Post a sign near or on the freezer to warn lab members of potential slipping hazards.
6. Once all the ice is melted, wipe out the freezer with a dry cloth thoroughly and then turn on the freezer.
7. Once the freezer is at the correct temperature, put all items back in, following your picture as a guide.
8. Inventory your freezer to make it easier to find things, meaning your lab spend fewer minutes with the door open (and reducing the number of defrosts you have to do every year!)
   1. Green Labs has digitally fillable inventory sheets or blank printable inventory sheets if your lab needs (both for an entire freezer on page one or just for a shelf full of racks on page two).

YES! It may be worth checking to see if your freezers are able to be "chilled up", especially -80 ˚C freezers! Inventories (see below for such resources!) and regular maintenance/defrosting can also help keep your freezers energy-efficient. You can also participate in the International Freezer Challenge and win great prizes!

Here are some additional resources suggesting that -70 ˚C is a safe storage temperature for many kinds of samples. Chilling up from -70 ˚C ensures energy savings of up to 30%! "Chilling-up" also reduces the number of defrosts your freezer requires each year, and reduces the wear and tear on your freezer, ensuring your freezer will last longer and require less maintenance.

We also encourage labs to divest old freezers using the Sustainability High-Efficiency Freezer Rebate Program and/or share your freezer space with other labs to prevent over-purchasing of these energy-intensive machines.

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. If you are interested in contributing a sample, please email us at [email protected] or fill our this Google Form!

Make sure fume hoods are closed fully (signage is available for those without automatic closers!). Check out our Shut the Sash initiative with a ton of resources, signage, and more! We hope to expand this program in 2025, so stay tuned for news.

1. Safety has a great website with commonly asked questions answered, including Hazardous Waste Tag Instructions, Hazardous Waste Management Guide, and much, much more!
2. If your hazardous waste containers are full (or they have reached the "lifetime" of 9 months since the date the chemical was originally placed in the waste container), you can remove the top sheet of the Hazardous Waste Tag, check the box on the top right-hand corner indicating it should be picked up, and put it into the assigned pickup location (usually in the fume hood) indicated by green "Satellite Accumulation Area" stickers provided by Safety. If you would like to add an additional Area, please reach out to [email protected].
3. You can also schedule a hazardous waste pickup by submitting a Facilities Service Request.

1. Safety has a great website with commonly asked questions answered, including Hazardous Waste Tag Instructions, Hazardous Waste Management Guide, and much, much more!
2. If your hazardous waste containers are full (or they have reached the "lifetime" of 9 months since the date the chemical was originally placed in the waste container), you can remove the top sheet of the Hazardous Waste Tag, check the box on the top right-hand corner indicating it should be picked up, and put it into the assigned pickup location (usually in the fume hood) indicated by green "Satellite Accumulation Area" stickers provided by Safety. If you would like to add an additional Area, please reach out to [email protected].
3. You can also schedule a hazardous waste pickup by submitting a Facilities Service Request.

Check out the Biohazardous Waste Disposal Guidelines or the Radioactive Waste Disposal Guidelines, or reach out to [email protected] for more information.

1. Caltech staff members can request pickup of e-waste, hazardous waste, refrigerators, and recycling or garbage generated on campus: log in to Access Caltech and click on "Facilities Service Requests." On the Facilities Service Requests home page, click on the relevant icon, such as waste, recycling, or refrigeration disposal, and follow prompts from there. See the Environmental Health and Safety office for more detailed information on e-waste and hazardous materials.
2. For e-waste specifically, staff members may also email [email protected] to request an e-waste pick-up at an on-campus office. See information above.

1. You can find additional information about E-Waste, as well as categories of E-Waste here. The types of electronic waste accepted include batteries, computers, copiers, CDs/DVDs, fax machines, flat screens, keyboards, laptops, monitors, phones, printers, scanners, servers, computer mice, and more.
2. E-Waste drop-off locations vary by building, so please reach out to your building manager for more information (Green Labs will update this information as we learn more!). If you require a pickup of an E-Waste item (like a freezer) contact [email protected] or fill out a Facilities Service Request.
   1. E-waste is not to be left on loading docks or dumpster areas as electronics can contain hazardous materials and need to be handled through the hazardous waste program.
3. If you are replacing a freezer, consider utilizing the High-Efficiency Freezer Rebate program through Caltech Sustainability.
4. Green Labs has developed a (beta) Green Labs Marketplace for labs to swap chemicals, glass ware, lab ware, consumables, furniture and more!

1. You can find more information about Property Services here.
2. If the assets are untagged, they can be e-wasted (see information above).
3. If the assets are tagged, you can fill out an Equipment Disposal Certification (EDC) form and submit it to [email protected].
4. Green Labs has developed a (beta) Green Labs Marketplace for labs to swap chemicals, glass ware, lab ware, consumables, furniture and more!

1. Green Labs has developed a Glassware, Chemical, and Equipment Share Program google sheet. For now, this program will be run digitally, but we hope to have a physical space to store items before the end of the year!
2. Caltech community members find and rehome items on the Caltech Marketplace listserve (campus network or VPN required) and at the Caltech Women's Club casita exchange (email link), and donate laboratory equipment to schools and community colleges that need it, via the Laboratory Equipment Access Program (LEAP).
3. Green Labs has developed a (beta) Green Labs Marketplace for labs to swap chemicals, glass ware, lab ware, consumables, furniture and more!

YES! Green Labs currently has pipette tip box and wafer recycling pilot programs for USA Scientific TipOne and Genesee products. We also have a composting pilot program for food waste. Lastly, we are running a short-term Styrofoam recycling program.

Note:

1. There are also Styrofoam take-back programs from NEB and Sigma-Aldrich (see below for more information on Styrofoam recycling!).
2. You can also recycle Corning, Falcon, Axygen product packaging.

Yes! Many companies have recycling programs for things such as coffee pods or printer cartridges/toner. Be sure to check with the company if your lab waste can be recycled!

1. For example: brands like Nespresso provides free bags for recycling pods! This program is for aluminum pods made by Nespresso. You can sign up and receive pre-printed shipping labels that you send back to the company for recycling. (other brands also have similar recycling programs; be sure to check their websites for details).
   1. Alternatively, you can get reusable pods if you want to make your own coffee with your coffee machines, and many companies have their own versions of the reusable pods.
2. Recycle printer ink and toner cartridges through office depot or hp printers (there are many others!).
3. There are also Styrofoam take-back programs from NEB and Sigma-Aldrich.
4. You can recycle Corning, Falcon, Axygen product packaging.

YES! We are running a short-term pilot program to recycle Styrofoam! Check out our Styrofoam Recycling Pilot Program website for more details about where and how to recycle Styrofoam. Please also sign our petition here to reduce Styrofoam being sent to the campus and to advocate for a permanent Styrofoam recycling program at Caltech.

Note:

1. There are also Styrofoam take-back programs from NEB and Sigma-Aldrich (to name a few!).
2. You can also recycle Corning, Falcon, Axygen product packaging.

What are waste audits?

1. WASTE AUDITS: allow labs to record what is in waste bins, recycle bins, solvent waste containers etc. and determine the volume of waste being correctly sorted
2. PROTOCOL AUDITS: record what is wasted after a protocol or kit and determine if there are ways to reduce the waste produced, miniaturize your experiments, or recycle/recover/replace reagents

What resources or tips are available?

See our "How to Conduct a Waste Audit" checklist and our Waste Audit Template Form, and a slide deck with example protocol audits.

When conducting a waste audit, make sure to:

• Inform custodians of the audit date(s)
• Don't tell your lab the date(s) of the audit, as this may change their behaviours
• Tell the lab the results during lab meeting updates / do quality control checks after the audit
• Have your checklist or forms ready:
• Caltech Green Labs Waste Audit Form (there are many options available if you don't want to use ours, including this Waste audit template form, or this Example checklist)
• Work with members to offer recommendations
• See our slide deck "Tips for tips" "More tips for Less Tips!"
• Some good resources we found include: University of Bristol Plastics Guidance, Article – Reducing Plastics in an Microbiology Lab, Article – UCLA Lab Waste Survey

Why bother?

• Understand volume of waste being produced in your lab and determine priorities, or create goals and strategies for waste diversion
• Can be useful to show your lab if they are properly recycling, and determine why things are not being recycled
  • MIT study shows the importance and impact of proper waste management
• Allows labs to adopt new signage, different sized bins, etc. to help make it easy and simple to recycle properly
  • Note: If recycling bins are too contaminated with non-recyclables, custodians just toss it!
• Change how we purchase
  • Allows labs to contact suppliers and ask for alternatives with less waste, or that are more recyclable eco-friendly, or alternatives with longer shelf lives (if you notice your lab is getting rid of lots of expired reagents)
• Reduce packaging and shipping
  • Consolidate orders/suppliers within the lab or between labs
  • Purchase in bulk
  • Right-size purchases
  • Reuse packaging like coolers
• Collaborate with other labs or universities to see if they have alternatives that create less waste, share our best practice tips, and update protocols as we publish (for example, update on protocols.io with the "green" versions of the protocols, and include tips and tricks to make the protocol sustainable
  • Research and find alternatives (for example: replacing single-use plastics with glassware)
  • Determine if protocols can be miniaturized (for example: for bacterial transformations instead of using the entire 50 uL tube for 1 transformation, divvy up the sample into 5 tubes and transform 5 instead, then use the drop-plate or drop-track method to reduce agar and plastic requirements when plating so you can plate all 5 transformations on a single plate)
  • Determine if experiments need to be done, or if you can use existing datasets instead
• Recycling, replacing, or recovering waste where possible (some examples and links below)
  • Solvents: solvent waste recovery, solvent reuse, solvent repurpose, or solvent replacement
  • Gloves or plastics recycling: Kimberly Clark, PolyCarbin, Terracycle, and Medline
  • Packaging recycling: Corning offers flexible package recycling programs from their packaging, NEB and Sigma-Aldrich offer Styrofoam recycling.

Check out a Mock Order Sheet and Product List developed by Green Labs! We use this to coordinate orders throughout our lab, to keep tabs on orders, and make a searchable document that lab members can use to order the same products they know and love! Please feel free to copy this sheet and share it with your lab to streamline your ordering system.

This sheet also has a second tab with some eco-friendly products our labs use to be more sustainable! If you have more to suggest to us, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

Furthermore, several of our partner companies have provided environmentally friendly product lists if you would like to explore their various options!

Avantor

Check out the most current Inventory Sheet example! Please feel free to copy this spreadsheet for use in your lab, fill it out and format it, then just print!

If you have additional suggestions, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

Participants in the competition can order free laminated versions of these sheets once the competition has ended by emailing us at [email protected].

Check out the most current Chemical Inventory Sheet example! Please feel free to copy this spreadsheet for use in your lab, modify (if needed) and fill it out. You can also make this sheet available to your lab so they can search if a chemical is already available in the lab and where it is located.

We also recommend updating your Safety Data Sheets (SDS) annually, so we hope this inventory list helps you to do so. Keeping SDS sheets available, digital, and up-to-date also makes it easier for your lab to access and search to ensure they are safely using the chemical.

If you have additional suggestions for our spreadsheet, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

Green Labs has developed digitally fillable inventory sheets or blank printable inventory sheets for freezer inventories. We recommend laminating these sheets or putting them in a sleeve protector to keep them clean and legible.

1. Green Labs has developed lab-specific recycling signage and regular recycling signage.
2. Here are links where you can download and print signs for a recycling overview and bottle and can, mixed paper, and all other recycling.
3. If you are interested in lab-specific signage, please contact [email protected].

YES. Check out the Hazardous Waste Management and Disposal site. Alternatively, you can reach out to [email protected], or your Biosafety Officer for signage specific to your areas and needs.

1. If your lab is Green Labs Certified, we provide recycling bins free of charge!
2. Caltech staff members can request recycling containers. Log in to Access Caltech and click on "Facilities Service Requests." You may need to enter your Caltech credentials. On the "Facilities Service Requests" home page, click on the recycling icon and follow prompts from there. Alternatively, call Caltech's Buildings and Grounds Department at (626) 395-4738 for options to obtain additional bins.

Participants in the Annual Lab Clean Up Event are eligible to receive free magnets and laminated inventory sheets for their freezers! If you are interested in getting these free resources, please RSVP here !

All participants will receive stickers, laminated Freezer Maintenance Checklist, and 5 Easy Steps to Make Your Freezer Last magnets.

We are also making available digitally fillable inventory sheets or blank printable inventory sheets for freezer inventories. We recommend laminating these sheets or putting them in a sleeve protector to keep them clean and legible.