If you’re interested in working more sustainably in your lab but aren’t sure where to start, or if it’s going to make life more difficult and/or expensive for you, then I hope that you find these 5 simple tips helpful.
Here at Asynt we firmly believe that any changes to promote more sustainable laboratories/lab practices must also contribute to easier ways of working, be economically beneficial for the business, and can either improve your chemistry or fail to cause any negative implications. In this way, the industry, the chemistry and the planet win!
1. Reduce Water Consumption
- Use waterless condensers (like Asynt CondenSyn) for refluxing to eliminate the need for constant water flow.
- Install recirculating water systems or vacuum pumps that reduce water waste during rotary evaporation and filtration.
2. Minimize Hazardous Waste
- Consider smaller scale reactions to reduce the volume of reagents and solvents required. Flow Chemistry can be a great way to achieve strong results with smaller volume of reactants.
- Choose greener solvents (e.g., ethanol, water, or supercritical CO₂) and avoid hazardous materials when alternatives exist.
- Implement solvent recovery and distillation systems to reuse solvents.
3. Optimize Energy Efficiency
- Turn off or power down equipment (like hotplates, centrifuges, etc.) when not in use.
- Use energy-efficient fume hoods and keep the door closed when not in use to reduce air handling costs.
- When appropriate, replace old lab equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives.
4. Source Sustainable Materials
- Prioritise renewable or recycled materials for lab consumables (gloves, pipette tips, etc.).
- Use refillable or reusable glassware and minimize single-use plastics.
- Partner with suppliers like Asynt who offer sustainable and environmentally conscious products.
5. Implement Waste Segregation and Recycling
- Set up dedicated bins for chemical recycling, plastic recycling, and glass waste, and paper etc – whatever combination works for your commonly used recyclables. Even in the office space & kitchens here at Asynt HQ, we’ve found this to be really useful and were surprised by the volume of recycling we achieve.
- Work with waste disposal companies that provide both recycling and sustainable disposal options for non-recyclables.
Click the image to find out more about Asynt’s sustainability credentials…
Sustainability needn’t cost the earth…
There are a great range of sustainable laboratory tools available as part of our Jan-March 2025 special offers so please do browse! Click the image below for our PDF flyer or visit the dedicated area of our website HERE.
If you’d like to speak with one of our technical team, please use the live chat box here on our website, or email [email protected].