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Laboratory Waste Reduction and Recycling Best Practices
EPA has assessed the following laboratories' waste reduction and recycling programs. Listed below are some of the best practices they have implemented to make it easy and convenient for employees to recycle:
- Region 9 Laboratory - Richmond, California
- Science and Ecosystem Support Division Laboratory - Athens, Georgia
- National Exposure Research Laboratory - Athens, Georgia
- Science and Technology Center - Kansas City, Kansas
- Environmental Science Center - Fort Meade, Maryland
- New England Regional Laboratory - Chelmsford, Massachusetts
- National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory - Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Large Lakes and Rivers Forecasting Research Station - Grosse Ile, Michigan
- Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory - Duluth, Minnesota
- Region 2 Laboratory - Edison, New Jersey
- New Main Laboratory - Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
- Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center - Cincinnati, Ohio
- Center Hill Facility - Cincinnati, Ohio
- Western Ecology Division Laboratory - Corvallis, Oregon
- Pacific Coastal Ecology Branch Laboratory - Newport, Oregon
- Atlantic Ecology Division Laboratory - Narragansett, Rhode Island
- Region 10 Laboratory - Manchester, Washington
Region 9 Laboratory - Richmond, California
- Triple rinses empty chemical stock bottles for reuse in a methylene chloride solvent recycling program. Each bottle that is reused has a label on it indicating how many times it has been reused.
- Participates in a chemical adoption program with local universities. A list of surplus chemicals is generated every two years and given to the local universities. If the chemicals are not claimed, they are disposed of as chemical waste.
- Designates a table in the kitchen for employees to place unwanted items for reuse and a magazine/book exchange in the reception area.
For more information on the Region 9 Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Brenda Bettencourt (bettencourt.brenda@epa.gov)
(510) 412-2311
Science and Ecosystem Support Division Laboratory - Athens, Georgia
Polystyrene is collected in a white rolling toter and given to a local grocery store.
- Collects and returns wire hangers, which accumulate as a result of the frequent cleaning of laboratory coats, to a local cleaner for reuse and recycling.
- Gives polystyrene packaging peanuts to the local UPS store for recycling and reuse. Takes other polystyrene packaging materials to the local Publix Super Market, where they are recycled.
- Created an informational brochure for visitors explaining the facility’s recycling program and the laboratory’s hazardous waste disposal procedures, compliance with executive orders, and technological improvements within the laboratory.
For more information on the Science and Ecosystem Support Division Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Ron Phelps (phelps.ron@epa.gov)
(706) 355-8728
Wire hangers used for laboratory coats are reused and recycled.
National Exposure Research Laboratory - Athens, Georgia
- Collects general office supplies, binders, clipboards, file folders, paper, labels, and laboratory equipment for redistribution through the Athens-Clarke County Teacher Reuse Store, where public school teachers can access materials for use in the classroom at no cost.
- Collects and returns wire hangers, which accumulate in large quantities as a result of frequent laboratory coat cleaning, to a local cleaner for reuse and recycling.
- Developed an EPA intranet site with instructions and information about the laboratory’s recycling program and information on how employees can recycle items from their homes, such as batteries.
For more information on the National Exposure Research Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Linda Exum (exum.linda@epa.gov)
(706) 355-8120
Science and Technology Center - Kansas City, Kansas
This five-gallon bucket is used to collect food scraps for vermicomposting.
- Implemented a vermicomposting (worm composting) program and uses the vermicompost worms to feed laboratory fish.
- Uses durable, reusable coolers rather than disposable polystyrene ones.
- Established an office supply reuse program through which employees place unwanted items in the “Green Room” box in the copy/printer room, where they are available for all employees to reuse.
For more information on the Science and Technology Center's recycling efforts, please contact:
Chris Taylor (taylor.christopher@epa.gov)
(913) 551-7736
Environmental Science Center - Fort Meade, Maryland
This mascot and logo promote recycling.
- Donates excess laboratory equipment and chemicals to local universities for reuse.
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Created a logo and mascot for its EMS displayed in a glass case in the lobby along with the facility's various awards and achievements.
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Holds an annual EMS "refresher course" for all employees and contractors and identifies EMS Team members by affixing the EMS logo on their name plates.
For more information on the Environmental Science Center's recycling efforts, please contact:
Rick Dreisch (dreisch.rick@epa.gov)
(410) 305-2646
New England Regional Laboratory (NERL) - Chelmsford, Massachusetts
- Created a recycling chart with information on what materials can be recycled and where the collection bins are located. The chart hangs in the recycling room, is distributed to new employees when they are hired, and is updated for employees on America Recycles Day.
- Held a facility-wide contest in 2006 for America Recycles Day wherein employees were challenged to come up with the most unique recycled item and prizes were awarded to contest winners.
- Has a Green Committee that meets quarterly to brainstorm environmental suggestions and present them to management. Suggestions have included duplex copying and printing, reducing the number of printers in the laboratory, and purchasing reusable coffee mugs.
For more information on NERL's recycling efforts, please contact:
Kathleen Campbell (campbell.kathy@epa.gov)
(617) 918-8352
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory - Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Recycles solvents using closed-loop parts cleaning systems, saving more than 50 gallons a year.
- Collects and recycles approximately 25 drums per year of used absorbents and fluids.
- Donates the return deposits on bottles and cans to charity. In 2006, employees donated $925.
Bottles and cans with a return deposit are collected separately; proceeds are donated to charity.
For more information on NVFEL's recycling efforts, please contact:
Ruth Schenk (schenk.ruth@epa.gov)
(734) 214-4017
Large Lakes and Rivers Forecasting Research Station - Grosse Ile, Michigan
- Composts yard waste onsite.
- Brings recyclables to a drop-off center if a hauler cannot be identified or donates materials for reuse.
- Sends recycling email reminders to employees to encourage them to recycle.
For more information on the Large Lakes and Rivers Forecasting and Research Center's recycling efforts, please contact:
John Filkins (filkins.john@epa.gov)
(734) 692-7614
Picnic table at the Duluth laboratory made from recycled content plastic lumber.
Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory - Duluth, Minnesota
- Purchased a Xerox Phaser 8400 printer, which uses solid ink blocks (like crayons) instead of printer cartridges. The solid ink blocks contain no solvents or hazardous chemicals, and they are packaged in recyclable paper and plastic packaging. The printer is ENERGY STAR® labeled.
- Purchased outside benches, picnic tables, and planters for the facility that were made from recycled-content plastic lumber.
- Contacted more than 850 companies, requesting the facility be taken off mailing lists, resulting in the laboratory’s mail volume being cut in half.
For more information on the Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Rodney Booth (booth.rod@epa.gov)
(218) 529-5040
Region 2 Laboratory - Edison, New Jersey
- Educates employees with an interactive display distinguishing between recyclable items and trash, graphically enhanced recycling guidelines posters, and facilitywide announcements about recycling procedures.
- Displays pages from office supply catalogs to show employees the savings realized by reusing binders, file folders, and other office supplies.
- Salvaged and sold antique bricks during the demolition of a building instead of landfilling them.
For more information on the Region 2 Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Kwong Cho (cho.kwong@epa.gov)
(732) 906-6901
An example of an art project made from reused items donated to the Childcare Center.
New Main Laboratory - Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
- Implemented a chemical and laboratory supply adoption program for Office of Research and Development (ORD) laboratories at the RTP campus. Excess glassware, laboratory supplies, chemicals, and other materials are entered into a database that can be accessed only by EPA employees during the first two weeks they are in the database. After two weeks, the materials are made available to schools and nonprofit organizations.
- Collects all food waste—including meat and dairy products, coffee grounds, and grease—as part of a comprehensive composting program and explains the program through an educational exhibit displayed near the exit of the cafe where the waste is collected.
- Reuses a number of items such as corrugated cardboard, CDs, plastic bottles, bicycle wheels, aluminum pans, ribbon, rope, paint, and polystyrene packing materials in children’s art projects and science experiments at the campus Childcare Center.
For more information on the RTP New Main Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
James White (white.james@epa.gov)
(919) 541-0842
Proceeds from AWEBERC's pull tab collection program benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC) - Cincinnati, Ohio
- Donates excess office equipment and office supplies to local schools, which are notified of the equipment and supplies available and are encouraged to visit EPA’s warehouse to obtain the surplus materials they need.
- Participates in “Green Moves,” a program aimed at reducing the amount of material discarded when an employee moves offices or leaves EPA by supplying the employee(s) with recycling bins, an office supply reuse bin, and trash receptacles.
- Implemented an aluminum can pull-tab recycling program, with proceeds going to benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
For more information on AWBERC's recycling efforts, please contact:
Cathy Cain (cain.cathy@epa.gov)
(513) 569-7985
Center Hill Facility - Cincinnati, Ohio
- Implemented an aluminum can pull-tab recycling program, with proceeds going to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Greater Cincinnati.
- Changed the default setting of all photocopiers and printers in the mailing, printing, and copying centers to double-sided copying. All new desk-side printers have duplexing capabilities and are defaulted to duplex printing.
For more information on the Center Hill Facility's recycling efforts, please contact:
Cathy Cain (cain.cathy@epa.gov)
(513) 569-7985
Bicycles are available for employees to use around the Corvallis laboratory campus.
Western Ecology Division Laboratory - Corvallis, Oregon
- Collects used science books to donate to Oregon State University for students to reuse.
- Offers employees bicycles that can be borrowed for use around the laboratory campus.
For more information on the Western Ecology Division Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Primo Knight (knight.primo@epa.gov)
(541) 754-4418
or
David Burr (burr.dave@epa.gov)
(541) 754-4721
Pacific Coastal Ecology Branch Laboratory - Newport, Oregon
- Uses “green tip” fluorescent light bulbs that contain less mercury than standard fluorescent bulbs, reducing the amount of hazardous waste that the laboratory must dispose of.
- Collects excess rainwater from roof drains in large cisterns for reuse in boat washing or landscape irrigation.
- Routes drain lines from laboratory spaces to a pollution abatement facility (PAF) in which unaltered seawater free from contact with non-indigenous species or chemical contamination can be directed to the seawater drain and returned to the estuary. Seawater contaminated by experiments can be routed to storage tanks, analyzed, treated to remove or detoxify contaminants, and then released to the City of Newport wastewater treatment facility.
For more information on the Pacific Coastal Ecology Branch Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Primo Knight (knight.primo@epa.gov)
(541) 754-4418
or
David Burr (burr.dave@epa.gov)
(541) 754-4721
Low VOC cork flooring used in the newly renovated director's office at the Narragansett laboratory.
Atlantic Ecology Division Laboratory - Narragansett, Rhode Island
- Used boulders salvaged from a local construction project for its security barriers around the perimeter of the laboratory, rather than purchasing new materials for this purpose.
- Uses 100 percent green cleaning supplies.
- Incorporated sustainably harvested construction materials and cork flooring—a low volatile organic compound (VOC) material—into the newly renovated director’s office and painted the office walls with low VOC paints.
For more information on the Atlantic Ecology Division Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Joe Livolsi (livolsi.joseph@epa.gov)
(401) 782-3163
This vermicomposting bin is used in an employee composting competition.
Region 10 Laboratory - Manchester, Washington
- Composts food waste through a "vermicomposting competition" among employees, who compete to see which group generates the most organic waste from worms. Participants use the "worm tea" and castings in their personal gardens, as well as on native plantings located on the facility.
- Honors Pollution Prevention Week with a silent auction stocked with employee donations of items that would otherwise be landfilled. Employees can use “Manchester Bucks”—imitation money given to employees for volunteering to make a recycling run, identifying a new material to recycle, or using water efficiently—or cash to bid on the items. All the money raised goes into a recycling fund.
- Collects trash in small flowerpots instead of regular-sized trash cans. This strategy saved 6,300 plastic trash can liners from going to the landfill in 2006.
- Places “EPA Recycles!” bins in the restrooms to collect empty toilet paper tubes for recycling.
For more information on the Region 10 Laboratory's recycling efforts, please contact:
Stephanie Bailey (bailey.stephanie@epa.gov)
(360) 871-8739