Even at work you should think about the environment and how you affect it. Of course if you are an IT guy it’s nothing you can do (or is there?), but when your job is related to dealing with chemicals, different substances and other organic matter you have to know where your waste goes. It doesn’t concern only labs but also some of the universities and big food companies or restaurants.
Presumably all these labs, which use rare chemicals and detergents have certain containers for sanitary sewage and other for glasswork. Imagine what could happen if some of their products are thrown in a normal trash bin. Infections, diseases, dirt could be easily spread when they fall among nature. Of course it is presumed that a company which is developing a certain cure or detergent won’t leave the convenient rubbish removers to collect their wastes. Therein small labs can cause problems and it probably won’t be intended but will be caused by imprudence. Perhaps control should be tightened in order accidents to be avoided. All industrial factories have their ways to remove garbage but who knows what happens with it after that? People should be aware if their environment is safe and clean.
On the other hand, medical and pharmaceutical universities don’t use such sanitary sewage disposal systems and the waste of their experiments goes in the drainage. Someone will say ‘what’s the big problem here, students don’t use dangerous chemical reagents’ and that won’t be true. Some reactive can combine with other when they ‘meet’ in the pipeline system and they can produce something toxic. This toxic end product will be freely spread in the nature. University is the place where young specialists should acquire their first skills and habits, so they have to be aware where their ‘rubbish’ should goes. However some chemical agents have been collected in big glass utensils and there is someone who is responsible for them. Of course these containers can’t be stored forever so probably there are special teams from companies, whose aim is to get rid of specific garbage. Another option is to be purged and prepared for second use if that’s possible.
When we are talking about rubbish and leftovers we should mention restaurants and supermarkets. Tons of food are thrown every single day due to expired sell-by date. If it is only organic matter it won’t be so bad, because other organisms will take advantage. But if this food comes with a package, nothing good will happen. A nice solution includes removing the waste and transporting the food to a factory where biogas is produced. Biogas can be made of everything, no matter whether it is food, excrements, plant or everyday garbage. Everyone can figure it out that this is inexhaustible source of energy and in the same time it’s an environmental friendly way of rubbish destroying. This is a kind of recycling, so restaurants, hotels and eating-houses should take care not only for the good food they offer but also for the one that they throw.
