Green Labs
Did you know? Laboratory buildings can utilize as much as ten times more energy than office buildings, generate considerable waste, and consume high amounts of water.
To enhance efficiencies in labs, Environmental Health & Safety and Notre Dame Sustainability are currently collaborating to identify opportunities for campus. Check back regularly to see new campus lab updates.
In the meantime, navigate this page to learn more about three simple ways your lab can embrace sustainability.
Reduce Landfill Waste Shut the Sash Raise the Temp
Waste Diversion
For guidance on disposing of common, non-hazardous lab-generated materials, please refer to the chart below. For a complete list, please visit the A-Z Recycling Directory.
For hazardous waste, please visit Environmental Health and Safety's webpage for hazardous waste guidelines.
| Material | Disposal Method | Quick Tips |
| Alkaline Batteries | Landfill | |
| Broken glass bottles | Landfill | Secure glass shards in a rigid container before throwing away. |
| Cardboard | Gray cardboard carts | Flatten cardboard before disposal. Find a cart near you. |
| Electronic waste | Specialty recycling | If your lab has a dedicated OIT consultant, request pick up through them. Otherwise, Submit an AiM work request using the “Surplus Property” tile. |
| Empty glass bottles | Single-stream recycling | |
| Empty pipette tip boxes | Single-stream recycling |
*All tip boxes and racks/inserts must be free of biological, chemical, or isotopic contaminants. |
| Empty pipette tip racks | Single-stream recycling |
*All tip boxes and racks/inserts must be free of biological, chemical, or isotopic contaminants. |
| Lithium batteries | Specialty Recycling |
Submit an AiM work request using the “Recycling” tile. Tape battery terminals before pick-up. |
| Nitrile gloves | Landfill | |
| Paper towels and napkins | Landfill | |
| Pipette tips | Landfill | |
| Styrofoam | Landfill |
Shut the Sash
What is it?
An initiative to encourage labs to “Shut the Sash” of their fume hoods.
Why should your lab consider it?
When left open and continuously running, hoods can use up as much energy as 3.5 residential houses. A simple way to conserve energy is to fully shut your lab’s fume hood when it is not in use.
Take action
- Interested in receiving a “Shut the Sash” reminder sticker that can be adhered to your lab’s fume hood? Please email labsafety@nd.edu to get one! To learn more about the effectiveness of Shut the Sash stickers, please view this case study from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Raise the Temperature Initiative
What is it?
An initiative to raise the temperature setpoint of your Ultra Low Freezer from -80 degrees C to -70 degrees.
Why should your lab consider it?
ULT freezers consume tremendous amounts of energy, close to the amount of electricity used by an average US home. Increasing the temperature setpoint by ten degrees can result in energy savings by as much as 40%.
Take action
We understand that sample integrity is critically important. In the vast majority of cases, it has been shown that reducing the temperature setpoint to -70 degrees does not affect sample integrity. But don’t just take our word—view some of the available evidence yourself. Two resources at the ready include a database of samples successfully stored at -70 degrees Celsius (source: CU-Boulder, with updates from My Green Lab; I2SL) and "-70 is the new -80."