Community Engagement
Beacon Center and Caltech GreenLabs
The Beacon Center is Green Labs Certified!
What does that mean?
Green Labs is a Caltech program that encourages sustainable laboratory practices that do not compromise research objectives, by providing resources for energy efficiency, water conservation, green chemistry, waste management, sustainable purchasing, sustainable education, and more.
The Beacon Center for Single Cell Biology has been a platinum certified Green Lab since 2022 and pledges to incorporate sustainability into our day to day processes.
We are involved in multiple Green Labs pilot programs, including the Fume Hood Shut the Sash Program, Styrofoam Recycling Program, -70 ˚C/-80 ˚C Comparison Project, and most recently are at the forefront of the Grenova Pipette TipCycle Initiative.
Learn more about Green Labs here
Polycarbin Plastic Recycling Program
We are using Polycarbin's 'Beta Carbin' rigid plastics recycling service. Our lab is a big consumer of single-use plastics due to the sensitive nature of our materials and samples. To offset the waste of single-use pipette tips, we recycle other plastics in our lab that have not touched biohazardous materials.
Through this service, we are with provided boxes that are pre-labelled with shipping information, clear guides on which clear and color plastics can be recycled, and a QR code that allows us to track the amount of plastic we've recycled.
The 'Carbin Counter' shows us how many pounds of plastic we've recycled and the impact that it has. As of March 2025, we've recycled 52 lbs of plastic and have reduced our CO2 emissions the equivalent of 334 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.
