Sustainability Metrics: Strategies for Program Deployment and Analysis
“If you can measure it, you can manage it.” This quote by Robert S. Kaplan, the former president of the Federal Reserve, inspires me and drives me toward better lab sustainability best practices. Because the truth is, while sustainability program implementation is all well and good, the best results will only be achieved through careful collection, analysis, and utilization of relevant data. You need to leverage insights from this data, learn what works and what doesn’t, to have any sort of tangible, measurable, repeatable, and reputable impact.
Lab Waste Disposal Challenges
Labs across industries—whether research labs, R&D facilities, or university instructional spaces—generate large amounts of waste. Due to the nature of lab work, this waste is often complex, including waste that can be classified as:
Once wastes are generated, they must be disposed of. This can be a major challenge though, as hazardous waste regulations can greatly limit compliant and safe disposal options. One of the most prominent hazardous waste regulations are those of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA guidelines are long and complex, and require extensive knowledge and experience to fully understand—something many lab managers and staff just simply don’t have time for.
There are increasingly more alternative treatment options to sustainably dispose of lab waste. With the right knowledge and resources, it can be a fairly simple process to divert tricky waste streams from landfills and incinerators to alternatives like recycling, fuel blending, or waste-to-energy.
Diverting waste is often something that quickly gains buy-in from lab staff. Even if certain waste materials are typically landfilled, lab staff often find themselves wondering if there is a better way to dispose of these materials for reuse or recycling. The multi-component materials that constitute universal waste, for example, are not easily separated for recycling by busy lab staff—meaning these materials could be destined for the landfill. In reality though, if separated and in the right system, many of the materials could be recycled.
Overcoming Waste Challenges
To overcome some of these challenges, it is crucial to ask your team some key questions:
1. What waste does our lab generate?
Full awareness of every generated waste is key to determining new treatment methodologies for those specific wastes. This includes:
- Solvent waste
- Lab plastics
- Universal waste
- Non-hazardous waste
- Regulated medical waste
2. How is lab waste currently treated?
Answering this question will allow lab staff to:
- Establish a baseline from which disposal and operational methodologies can be evaluated
- Gain insight into the possible compliance or bandwidth reasons for waste treatment decisions
3. Can procurement be reshaped to minimize waste and consider end disposal technologies?
Better procurement may mean purchasing goods in bulk to minimize packaging and shipping waste. Or, it could mean buying products and materials that are more poised to be disposed of in a sustainable way. This could be, for example, buying reusable pipette tip containers so only the tips themselves must be thrown away instead of the entire rack. Or this could mean using green chemistry best practices to purchase solvents that can be easily fuel blended when they are spent.
4. Which treatment technologies are sustainable?
Familiarize yourself with new, innovative waste disposal technologies for many common lab waste streams, so you can determine the best options for your operations. This may include:
5. What should our waste diversion goals be?
Answering this involves asking other questions. How much of your waste streams do you want to divert from landfills or incineration? How much waste is it even physically possible to divert? Does your company already have waste diversion goals?
6. How can we communicate progress?
With large operational and waste disposal changes, cross-functional teams and upper management will want to know that these changes are worthwhile. As such, it’s crucial to develop a plan to be able to communicate success with management. This could be in the form of:
- Monthly, quarterly, or yearly reports
- Data sharing during quarterly business reviews
- Building a dashboard for real-time stats at a glance
7. What data do we need to track?
In answering this, you need to look at:
- What data you need to convince leadership of success
- Potential environmental compliance reporting requirements
- Internal success metrics
- What you will need to inform procurement
- External stakeholder analysis desires
8. How can we transition to new sustainable lab waste management?
This transition may involve changing processes and day-to-day operations. As such, it’s crucial to have a full idea of what exactly the transition would look like, and build out waste sorting/disposal resources wherever possible.
Informed Waste Solutions
At the end of it all, you should have an answer to the question: “Can we add sustainable waste disposal technologies to our processes?” A full review of what you currently do—and what is possible—will help inform your switch to more sustainable waste disposal.
In this way, you will be clarifying important parameters before sustainable processes are put in place and taking steps to quantify the impact of your efforts. This will also allow you to accomplish some of the lowest barrier-to-entry projects and learn valuable information about your operational sustainability—potentially even resulting in improvements for the future.
All of this can seem daunting and complex—especially if you are also trying to balance day-to-day lab operations and experiments. You may need a partner to help you review your procurement and waste streams in detail; one that is current with—and has access to—the latest disposal technologies. It's an added bonus if this partner has a suite of sustainability services and informed consultants that can help ensure you are reaching your environmental goals.
Triumvirate Environmental is one such partner. With disposal facilities across North America and over 30 years of experience in waste management and sustainability, we have the know-how—and the capabilities—to help you succeed. Learn more!
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