Starlab blog

Energy consumption in labs: how to make a real, green difference by taking just a few simple actions

| August 25, 2026

Labs use up to ten times more energy than offices, and most of the fix costs nothing. A practical walkthrough of where that energy actually goes.

Sustainability

Going green in the lab: what you buy (and use!) matters

| August 25, 2026

Every product entering the lab leaves a footprint before it even arrives. Using less and buying better are still the two biggest levers you have.

Sustainability

Plastic in labs: the ultimate plastic product for the lab, revisited

| August 25, 2026

Academic research labs generate an estimated 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste a year. What genuinely reduces it, and why recycling alone was never going to be enough.

Sustainability

Solid waste in the lab: where does it go when we throw it 'away'?

| August 25, 2026

A quick overview of six common laboratory waste types and their fate after leaving the lab, and why reducing matters more than recycling.

Sustainability

Sustainable cold storage in the lab: ready to reduce costs and environmental impact?

| August 25, 2026

One freezer at -80°C can use as much energy as an entire household. Raising it to -70°C, and a few other habits, can cut that by up to 40%.

Sustainability

Never change a running system: what is a sustainable method, and how can it be assessed?

| August 25, 2026

Established methods work, and that's exactly why nobody questions them. What actually makes a lab method sustainable, grounded in green chemistry's twelve principles.

Sustainability

Water usage in the lab: we cannot do without this precious blue resource, but we can do a lot better

| August 25, 2026

An estimated 1.42 billion people live in areas of high water vulnerability, and labs use far more water than most people realise. Where it's actually going, and how to use less.

Sustainability

Eco: Life in bio plastic? It's fantastic!

| August 25, 2026

Bio-based and biodegradable plastics have moved on a lot. Here's what's real progress for the lab, and what still doesn't actually work.

Sustainability

Shut up, bacteria! How disturbed communication might solve the problem of antibiotic resistance

| August 24, 2026

American microbiologists Bonnie L. Bassler and Michael R. Silverman discovered how bacteria communicate via 'quorum sensing' — disrupting it could render antibiotics unnecessary.

From laboratory waste to recyclable material: Research allowance from the Federal Republic of Germany for Starlab

| August 24, 2026

After 1,670+ laboratories collecting over 100 tonnes of plastic, Starlab receives a research allowance from the German government for its TipOne® recycling programme.

Sustainability