Thompson Rivers University
IN-9: Green Laboratories

TRU Green Labs Program Thompson Rivers University’s Green Labs program was formed in 2017. Laboratory faculty, staff and students participate in the program and are involved in the following: performing assessments, reducing waste and improving recycling, replacing inefficient equipment and transitioning to best practices. TRU is constantly trying to improve its Green Labs Program and seeks regular feedback from all stakeholders in order to try and make the program as effective and efficient as possible. The TRU Green Labs program assists our labs in reducing their resource use (for example, with some equipment, the reduction of energy, chemical volume, water, and time needed for experiments) and improving education and engagement efforts around these themes: • Electricity • Lighting • Cold storage and freezer management • Fume hoods and ventilation • Water • Inventory management • Recycling • Waste reduction • Hazardous waste disposal (the recently purchased microwave digester will be used in the analytical chemistry lab to aid in breaking down compounds leading to a reduction of solvents) • Green chemistry • Travel • Field work (leave no trace) • Community (engaged scholarship) • Purchasing • Leveraging incentive/rebate programs • Utility usage reporting (transparency) • Autoclaves/Glass washing • Education (integrating Green Lab practices into TRU classrooms) • Time management (the recently purchased microwave synthesizer will be used for a variety of experiments, for example, during first year classes, chemistry students create acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and the synthesizer will be used to continuously process samples more efficiently than was possible with the older equipment) Through regular assessments, TRU has brought most campus labs into the Green Labs Program, with the goal of making all labs compliant with the program through ongoing monitoring and improvement. In addition, we are currently working on the following projects: • Packaging reuse • Improved lab recycling signage • Updated information and training and in hazardous waste training • Lab recycling waste audit • Fume hood audit and transition to automated metering

For details on the program go to this link and see ‘Green Labs Program’: https://www.tru.ca/sustain/initiatives/buildings-and-grounds.html