This year, Big Green Week took place from 8th-16th June 2024.

As part of our commitment to sustainability, we visited Dunn School at Oxford University and Birmingham City University, who have both chosen to adopt sustainable practices within their laboratories to make a difference and be greener.

Find out more below…

We were delighted to be invited to the Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University to learn more about the numerous ways the Dunn School Green Group implements sustainable initiatives within their research labs and beyond. Our Reagent Specialist, Eliot Barson, thoroughly enjoyed discussing the many ways Appleton Woods can support labs to become greener – including minimising the environmental impact of laboratory plastic waste generation with the appCYCLE 2.0 laboratory waste recycling box, reducing the amount of plastic used in packaging, offering more sustainable/eco-friendly cell culture and PCR reagents, and our exciting new product launch – CardBox Racked Pipette Tips – which are housed in robust cardboard racks, reducing plastic consumption by 60% compared to traditional plastic racks!

The sustainable initiatives at the Dunn School are driven by Saroj Saurya, lead of the Dunn School Green Group, with the help of staff and students. Not only has Saroj implemented recycling schemes such as the appCYCLE 2.0 recycling box into the Dunn School’s research labs, Saroj also takes a considerable amount of time to wash many non-hazardous laboratory plastics after they are used, ensuring plastics are reused rather than being disposed of after a single use wherever possible.

In addition to using the appCYCLE 2.0 to recycle their waste, the Dunn School has also recently purchased window box planters to use throughout the building which are manufactured using the laboratory waste recycled by customers of the appCYCLE 2.0 scheme! If you are interested in purchasing furniture, gardenware or houseware products manufactured from recycled laboratory waste, get in touch with us today!

Outside of their lab efforts to reduce plastic usage, the Dunn School Green Group offers various initiatives which encourage staff and students to become more sustainable. These include their refillable station for shampoo, handwash, washing up liquid and more, bins for food waste and recyclable materials throughout the Dunn School, and additionally their volunteer-driven Neighbourly initiative where staff and students from the Dunn School collaborate with local producers and retailers to collect surplus food, distributing this within the Dunn School to minimise food waste.

At Birmingham City University (BCU) we met with Bernadette and Hasan who are both committed to introducing new sustainable initiatives into their research labs, and are passionate about doing everything they can to reduce the impact of the faculty’s research on the environment from a plastic reduction and recycling perspective.

Hasan Nadeem, Associate Graduate Technician has been employed to bring in new sustainable ideas to minimise plastic usage within the faculty’s research labs. To achieve this, Hasan has a range of roles including researching new ways to become more sustainable, monitoring the proportions of plastic and cardboard waste generated in the lab, and overseeing the recycling of these materials to ensure staff and students are aware of the correct recycling systems in place.

"I think it’s great to dedicate Big Green Week to especially focus on being sustainable within the lab. However, it is also important to continually focus on ways we can be more sustainable, during Big Green Week and beyond.”

“Appleton Woods offers a range of sustainable options which do not compromise on quality. As well as this, it’s great that Appleton Woods offer sustainable options which are often at no extra cost to the consumer. Before we used the appCYCLE 2.0 recycling box, we had piles and piles of pipette tip boxes collecting on our lab bench. Having the appCYCLE 2.0 has enabled us to recycle our excess tip boxes, and know we are making a positive impact on the environment.”

Thank you to both the Dunn School and Birmingham City University for allowing us to visit their facilities.

If you have any questions on these products or anything else mentioned click here to email us!