This text is part of the special issue of Relève en recherche
Laboratory gloves will now have a second life at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS). A team of students from the Eau Terre Environnement Center has embarked on the upgrading of this essential equipment.
No question of forgetting your gloves when working in a laboratory, especially in that of INRS professor Jérôme Comte, who supports the project. “We work in microbiology and genomics, so the risk of contamination by our samples is high, explains Mr. Comte. We have an increased consumption of gloves to avoid this. »
Emily Hallett, Aurélie Beaulieu-Laliberté, Martial Leroy and Christophe Langevin therefore wanted to remedy this problem. “One of the institute’s missions is to understand the environment in which we live in order to preserve it, adds Christophe Langevin. We know that gloves are mandatory, but we wanted to find a solution that corresponds to our values. »
Used for a few hours and then thrown away, this equipment made of latex, nitrile or vinyl often ends up in a landfill or an incinerator. “Their path is different depending on the geographical location, underlines Christophe Langevin, who leads the project. INRS facilities are located in Montreal, Varennes, Laval and Quebec. We first targeted Quebec, where the gloves are burned, and it’s not a very interesting future. »
A new life
To spare them this tragic and unecological fate, the students joined forces with the company Go Zéro, based in Magog. Instead of being incinerated, the gloves will be transformed into plastic balls, which will be used by other companies to become game modules, gymnasium equipment or even agricultural mats.
Since the summer, more than 15,000 gloves have been collected thanks to the installation of around fifty recycling boxes in several INRS laboratories. These boxes are made by a local company, Cartonek, whose mission is to integrate people living with functional limitations into the job market. “The social aspect of sustainable development was also very important to us,” adds Christophe Langevin.
To complete the circle, the contents are then emptied into a 1000-litre bag which, once filled, will be shipped to Magog by the firm UPS, which will offset the carbon dioxide emissions produced by this journey.
A well-received project
The small team is proud of the outcome of this project and the very favorable reception from the student and faculty community. “We all wanted to do something to be more respectful and exemplary in the recovery of waste at the Centre, says Martial Leroy, president of the student association. It sparked a lot of interest in the community. The support of the green committee, management and funding from the Ministry of Higher Education and the Youth Secretariat made it possible for their idea to materialize.
Such an initiative is rewarding for the students in his laboratory, according to Jérôme Comte. “The fact of being able to finalize an idea into a program, to manage a budget and to be accountable is an excellent learning process in terms of autonomy and social commitment”, affirms the professor.
Next steps
The students initially targeted the gloves for reasons of feasibility, but also intend to tackle the fate of other objects. “We use Petri dishes or even pipette tips in abundance, for less than a second of use, indicates Christophe Langevin. It is costly for laboratories and for the environment. »
While recycling is one option, others, such as reduction and reuse, are fundamental to addressing today’s environmental issues. The team is evaluating several avenues, such as buying biodegradable gloves. The life cycle analysis will be done to see if it is viable and where. “It is important that these kinds of initiatives be applied on a larger scale, that it grows, to have a real impact,” concludes Martial Leroy.
The team will lead science popularization workshops at the Aquarium du Québec, on October 22 and 23, to raise awareness of various environmental issues, young and old.
What are they interested in?
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