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Cooler Return Program is a ‘Win-Win’ for Lab

UC-Berkeley’s Glaunsinger Lab reduces environmental impact by reusing coolers for its temperature-sensitive reagents, chemicals and kits.

A MilliporeSigma cooler is shown with the cooler return label on top of the cooler lid. This label shows the procedure for shipping the cooler back to MilliporeSigma.
A MilliporeSigma cooler is shown with the cooler return label on top of the cooler lid. This label shows the procedure for shipping the cooler back to MilliporeSigma.

As a believer in the coexistence of science and the environment, the Glaunsinger Lab at the University of California-Berkeley takes a proactive approach to its efforts to recycle and reuse coolers needed for the storage and shipment of temperature-sensitive reagents, chemicals and kits.

That approach, however, became more difficult to adhere to as the number of polystyrene cooler return programs dwindled, representing a disturbing trend to Lab Manager Jennifer Blancas. To remedy that environmental concern, the Glaunsinger Lab now works with MilliporeSigma. “They’re one of the few vendors that have a cooler return program,” she explains.

Last year, MilliporeSigma’s distribution centers in Milwaukee, Allentown and St. Louis shipped 971 coolers to UCB, which equates to 18/wk.

Studies at the Glaunsinger Lab aim to enhance the understanding of virus-host interactions, as well as provide insight into how gene expression pathways are normally regulated in human cells. The reagents, chemicals and kits require that temperatures remain lower than ambient for shipping and storage, as room temperatures could destroy experiment conditions or materials.

To meet those temperature requirements, the lab uses insulated coolers packed with blue ice or dry ice. The coolers maintain appropriate temperatures for several hours up to a couple days, depending on the needs of the shipment.

Blancas explains, “Once a cooler is used, [we had to determine] how it could it be diverted from the landfill waste stream. Our recycling program is hesitant to accept #6 [Society of Plastics Industry’s recycling code for polystyrene, or EPS] since there is no system in place that provides an offset to the cost of recycling. Some recycling centers package up the [EPS] waste and ship it out of country. Therefore, the carbon footprint is not alleviated, but worsened.”

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INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Life Sciences at PACK EXPO Southeast