Earth Day and seeds are a natural match. So MIT’s Environment, Health and Safety Office (EHS) awarded $5,000 in seed money on April 22 as part of its Green Lab contest. This funding will be used to help labs conserve resources, including energy, water, hazardous materials, and waste.
Four MIT labs won $1000 seed money prizes:
- the Imperiali Lab in the Department of Biology;
- the Langer Lab at the Koch Institute;
- the Summons Lab in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; and
- the Wang Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The final $1000 prize was split between two Department of Chemical Engineering labs: Brushett and Prather.
Other labs that participated in the contest also made positive changes. They include:
- the Alm Lab in the Department of Biological Engineering ;
- the Biology Kitchens in the Department of Biology;
- the Hamel Lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering;
- the Jensen Lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering ;
- the Olsen Lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering ; and
- the Schuh Lab in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering .
All 12 labs that entered the contest are eligible to win two grand prizes in November:
- $5,000 for most resources saved; and
- $5.000 for most innovative solutions.
The main goal of the contest is to build a green labs program at the Institute. Participating labs will be certified through an intensive assessment tool from My Green Lab and provide advice on how to customize it for MIT use.
Going for the green
As part of the contest, the labs were asked to submit ideas on how they would make their lab a greener place to conduct research or teach. They filled out My Green Lab’s assessment tool and will do so again in the fall. This tool will be used to finalize lab ratings in the next phase of the contest.
Meanwhile, EHS will actively engage with the labs, sending them energy and waste audits by the end of May and visiting them to share insights. Monthly seminars offered by EHS will focus on topics ranging from plug load and energy management to green chemistry to recycling.
Working with MIT Facilities, EHS also plans to introduce different types of recycling bins in labs, along with better signage.
Support
The Green Lab Contest is sponsored by EHS, with support from Campus Construction, the Office of Sustainability, the Recycling Office, the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Koch Institute, and MIT.nano.
For more information about the contest or green efforts at MIT, visit greenlab.mit.edu, which includes links to a range of green resources. You can also contact Pam Greenley or Niamh Kelly in EHS.
