Pictured above, left to right: [top] Griffin Carter, [middle] Annie Wu, Aya Elarid, Laurel Thomas, [bottom] Elizabeth Popescu (team leader), Ritika Singh (stakeholder), Anh-Vy Pham (team leader)
SAR Green Labs Team:
Implementing Sustainable Practices in UCLA Labs Through Audits and Education
The approximate energy laboratories use is estimated to be ten times more
energy and four times more water than offices in addition to generating 5.5 metric tons of plastic
waste! Diverting just 2% of lab plastics from landfill would be the equivalent to saving 100 million
metric tons of carbon dioxide. Our project aims to help reach that goal mainly by educating labs
about the different ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Through our research, we aim to help
laboratories identify different ways of reducing their waste. We will do this by conducting visual
waste audits in the labs, then using the data to inform ourselves on how best to educate them
on sustainable practices. The next step is to go out there and start educating these labs,
whether it’s through trivia games, presentations, and more. At the end of it all, we hope to have
instilled some valuable knowledge in the labs at UCLA while reducing their costly impact on the
environment!
Stakeholder(s): Ritika Singh, Neil Manskey
Team Leaders: Elizabeth Popescu, Anh-Vy Pham
Team Members: Griffin Carter, Annie Wu, Aya Elarid, Laurel Thomas
Midterm Report: Green Labs 2020 Midterm Report
Midterm Presentation: “Implementing Lab Sustainability Through Audits and Education”
Press Release: “Lab Waste Education in the Midst of a Pandemic”
Final Report: