Jane Kilcoyne and colleagues took action after calculating that their biotoxin chemistry lab produced 4000 kilograms of waste per year, none of which was recyled

How we slashed our lab’s carbon footprint

Jane Kilcoyne and colleagues took action after calculating that their biotoxin chemistry lab produced 4000 kilograms of waste per year, none of which was recyled

Jane Kilcoyne describes how she and colleagues reduced the carbon footprint of her marine biotoxin monitoring lab.

Analytical chemist Jane Kilcoyne was working in her biotoxin monitoring lab one day in 2018 when she noticed a bin overflowing with plastic waste. The observation prompted her to join forces with like-minded colleagues and develop a package of measures aimed at reducing their lab’s carbon footprint. Their efforts include reducing energy consumption, composting shellfish waste, polystyrene recycling, and digitizing documentation.

Labs are estimated to use 10 times more energy and five times more water than office spaces, she says, and the average bench scientist uses around 10 times more single-use plastics than the average person.

Kilcoyne, who works at the Marine Institute, a government agency responsible for marine research, in Galway, Ireland, describes how their efforts feed into the thirteenth of 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015 (to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).

How to Save Humanity in 17 Goals is a podcast series that profiles scientists whose work addresses one or more of the SDGs. Episodes 13–18 are produced in partnership with Nature Sustainability, and introduced by Monica Contestabile, its chief editor.

Each episode of this six-part Working Scientist podcast series ends with a sponsored slot from La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture & Food in Melbourne, Australia, where we hear about how its researchers are focusing on the SDGs.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02899-0

Paid content: La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF)

In this podcast series from LISAF at La Trobe University in Australia, we’ll hear how groundbreaking work is driving the university’s holistic approach to food security. This ‘paddock-to-gut’ philosophy is successfully delivering innovative research and significant academic and industry partnerships.

In episode 1, Professor Theo Farrell, Vice-Chancellor and President of La Trobe University, explains how La Trobe is contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, as well as the impact of the university’s strategic investment in research and training in the agri-food sector.

Find out more about this type of paid content.

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Dom Byrne