Emily Colpack, intern for Green Labs, said the team brainstormed about who would need the packs and reached out to several local groups. “The Green Labs program is crucial to finding solutions to reduce the amount of energy and water used and to divert waste from the landfill.”īecause UAB green lab participants had a steady supply of packs without another use for them, Green Labs took the reins and found a solution. “Labs are often the biggest energy consumers and waste generators on our campus,” Ciancio said. UAB Green Labs collects 200 pounds of ice packs monthly from participating green labs. They are convenient and can stay cold for days, unlike regular ice, which is why they are a good option for keeping items cold during transport. The ice packs UAB receives are like ones you may have seen in meal kit delivery services.

Through the UAB Green Labs program, the ice packs are collected and sent to the Market at Pepper Place and other organizations. One initiative has helped find another use for the many ice packs that are used in deliveries to UAB’s research laboratories. “The saying ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ is often misinterpreted as all three actions being equal – we really want to emphasize that these actions are in this order for a reason: if you have too much of something that would otherwise end up in a landfill, find another use for that item by reusing it before trying to recycle it,” said Nick Ciancio, sustainability coordinator. On our campus, UAB Sustainability is always on the lookout to find innovative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle materials. We’re all familiar with this adage from the 1970s environmental movement.

Reusable ice packs back