NL
DE
7 May 2020
Good things were already happening. One day the yellow ML-I waste containers had been replaced by grey ones. A smiling technician had told: “they’re made of recycled plastic!”. Unfortunately, in spite of being smart and engaged, we were not quite hitting the mark. Biomedical research had been estimated to contribute a 1.8% of the global plastic waste. Each of our “minus eighty” freezers used as much power as an average Dutch household. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. Why, if many of us were concerned, were changes so minimal and so slow?
With this question in mind, a young scientist went searching for help. There must be other alternatives, and find them she would. She set out for Google. Not long after landing, she spotted MyGreenLab.org. and went inside to have a closer look. So much information in just one go! The webpage contained resources, activities, conferences and lists with tips and tricks. She found names of companies who would take the waste we always thought we can’t recycle, and make new things out of them. Lists with ancient logistic tricks to reduce a lab’s carbon footprint. And advice on how to reduce electricity consumption. And research about it!
It was time to head back and tell the others. Who could help create awareness, engage colleagues and coordinate actions? Teaming up with Radboud Green Office and the Radboudumc sustainability advisor sounded like a plan. But back home… things were different. The Green Office was very busy with podcasts and activities for students. Although great, their ideas and focus were lightyears away from the lab. The sustainability advisor in turn, had all kinds of plans for the hospital, but knew very little about what happened in the research tower. “Do you have a job next to your PhD?”, she asked the first time they talked. That was actually also the last time they saw each other. At some point the communication was lost.
Will the prophecy be true? Have the Gods of safety, sterility, reproducibility, time and money, condemned us to single-use plastics and untidy freezers? It sounds like too high a price for the supreme goal of science. But there is hope. Look around you… In this dark corona times creativity is strong with us. All discovering new ways of communication, becoming incredible chefs and skilled programmers. Just imagine the brilliant ideas we could have, if we spent some time on sustainability plans.
Dear colleagues, it is our turn now. Technicians and the RAP, policy advisors, group leaders and managers. We’re all for a “bigger impact” in healthcare. And well, hand in hand the environment and health go. Our tight agendas and publication pressure are not isolated from the galaxy. Patch one crisis and wait for another, we don’t want.
And if you visit the lab these days, beware. You might find mischievous poltergeists around. No matter what time of a Friday evening I turn off the lights, they are always ON again on Saturday morning! Maybe they’re the same spirits telling people to cool down melted agarose under running water. It’s a lie, swirling in the air a couple times works just as fine.
You have been warned. Under the dark wave of corona, sparks of hope shine from inside the houses. Will the brave Radboudumc finally start the green revolution?
@Estel Collado Camps, May 2020.
Good things were already happening. One day the yellow ML-I waste containers had been replaced by grey ones. A smiling technician had told: “they’re made of recycled plastic!”. Unfortunately, in spite of being smart and engaged, we were not quite hitting the mark. Biomedical research had been estimated to contribute a 1.8% of the global plastic waste. Each of our “minus eighty” freezers used as much power as an average Dutch household. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. Why, if many of us were concerned, were changes so minimal and so slow?
With this question in mind, a young scientist went searching for help. There must be other alternatives, and find them she would. She set out for Google. Not long after landing, she spotted MyGreenLab.org. and went inside to have a closer look. So much information in just one go! The webpage contained resources, activities, conferences and lists with tips and tricks. She found names of companies who would take the waste we always thought we can’t recycle, and make new things out of them. Lists with ancient logistic tricks to reduce a lab’s carbon footprint. And advice on how to reduce electricity consumption. And research about it!
It was time to head back and tell the others. Who could help create awareness, engage colleagues and coordinate actions? Teaming up with Radboud Green Office and the Radboudumc sustainability advisor sounded like a plan. But back home… things were different. The Green Office was very busy with podcasts and activities for students. Although great, their ideas and focus were lightyears away from the lab. The sustainability advisor in turn, had all kinds of plans for the hospital, but knew very little about what happened in the research tower. “Do you have a job next to your PhD?”, she asked the first time they talked. That was actually also the last time they saw each other. At some point the communication was lost.
Will the prophecy be true? Have the Gods of safety, sterility, reproducibility, time and money, condemned us to single-use plastics and untidy freezers? It sounds like too high a price for the supreme goal of science. But there is hope. Look around you… In this dark corona times creativity is strong with us. All discovering new ways of communication, becoming incredible chefs and skilled programmers. Just imagine the brilliant ideas we could have, if we spent some time on sustainability plans.
Dear colleagues, it is our turn now. Technicians and the RAP, policy advisors, group leaders and managers. We’re all for a “bigger impact” in healthcare. And well, hand in hand the environment and health go. Our tight agendas and publication pressure are not isolated from the galaxy. Patch one crisis and wait for another, we don’t want.
And if you visit the lab these days, beware. You might find mischievous poltergeists around. No matter what time of a Friday evening I turn off the lights, they are always ON again on Saturday morning! Maybe they’re the same spirits telling people to cool down melted agarose under running water. It’s a lie, swirling in the air a couple times works just as fine.
You have been warned. Under the dark wave of corona, sparks of hope shine from inside the houses. Will the brave Radboudumc finally start the green revolution?
@Estel Collado Camps, May 2020.
