Over the years, there has been an increase in awareness about how our actions impact global ecological systems, especially when it comes to climate change. As people, it’s our social responsibility to reduce waste and contribute to sustainable environmental, social, and economic development.
It is likely your laboratory and many of your associates’ laboratories contain similar kinds of waste, including chemicals and plastics, that can be responsibly managed with a few simple changes. For example, chemicals used to clean glassware are often bought in large stocks and hazardous solvents are typically stored in enormous quantities. We all know that plastic can cause serious problems in our environment and, unfortunately, not enough is known about the impact of microplastics found in our bodies. Petrifilm plates, pipette tips, scalpels, streaking rods, and the containers they come in are made from plastic and packaged in plastic.
So, What Can You Do?
The best course of action is to establish a waste minimization program. Without programs like this, laboratory activities can result in 40% or more of the hazardous waste generated. Your program should include a plan for disposing of surplus chemicals or byproducts, and chemicals that have reached the end of their life expectancy. Surplus chemicals that cannot be used or reused are deemed waste and the chemical waste should be handled according to the Prudent Practices in your laboratory. Some options to consider when you have a surplus of chemicals and no use for them is to exchange them with other laboratories. They may not need the absolute highest purity of that chemical and not all chemical reactions require the highest purity. Exchanging the chemicals is a better option than leaving them to waste and become a hazardous material to dispose of.
Your waste minimization program should also include recycling. You will need to check with your local recycling guidelines to make sure that the plastics placed into this category are recyclable. Your lab may also want to consider composting. Food scraps, paper bowls and plates, compostable utensils (they do exist!), and napkins can all be composted. Anything that can be recycled or composted becomes trash. This is where the plastics that aren’t recyclable go like Pertrifilm plates, plastic wrappers, soft plastics, plastic films, etc. For a biological laboratory buying necessary test items from vendors like 3M, this will be the most difficult portion to reduce as many necessary items are wrapped in non-recyclable plastic.
Other suggestions for waste management are found through the Less is Better publication by the American Chemical Society and in the documents provided by NIH and EPA on laboratory waste management.
Guidance Documents, e.g. ISO 26000, ISO 5001
When it comes to accreditation, there are a few resources that can help you develop internal procedures to improve your organization’s social responsibility, including ISO 26000:2010. The purpose of ISO 26000 is not something to be certified or accredited for, but rather to be used as a guidance document. It does not contain requirements and is intended to clarify what social responsibility is and help organizations implement their own principles by providing best practices²—regardless of the size of your organization or your industry.
ISO 26000 can be used as an informative reference, providing historical background to social responsibility. Most importantly, it provides the user with some helpful tools. Using these tools and recommendations, ISO 26000 can show a commitment to continual improvement, attract like-minded stakeholders; improve relationships with employees, the local community, suppliers, and government agencies; and contribute to sustainable development by reducing harmful environmental, social, and economic impacts. Lastly, it helps manage and mitigate risk. Risk is a growing and undeniably important consideration within ISO standards. It does this by outlining seven principles:
- organizational governance
- human rights
- labor practices
- the environment
- fair operating practices
- consumer issues
- community involvement and development
Unlike ISO 26000, ISO 50001:2018 was designed to support all organizations and it can be certified by a third-party Certification Body accredited to perform the activity (ISO 50003:2021). ISO 50001 is intended to provide a practical approach to improve energy use by developing a policy framework for more efficient use of your energy. While it is similar to all other ISO management system standards, this standard aligns more closely to ISO 9001 in that it relates to your specific management system. It is adaptable to any industry willing to participate in the certification.
ISO 50001 benefits include reducing energy consumption, enhancing reputation, decreasing energy costs, and improving competitiveness. Additional benefits and data can be found in the annual IEC report. In 2019, they included 15 benefits when investing in higher efficiency energy consumption tactics. The most notable of which includes major reductions in emissions of CO2 (by 20% in the European Union), improved waste management, enhanced security of energy supplies, and more.