Driven by concerns regarding excess waste they observed in UCSB lab classes, ELI graduates ('25) Kaili Mikami and Lauren Buyalos, tackled this problem for their ELI change-making project, implementing and launching FLOW: Facilitating Laboratory Optimization and Waste to divert UCSB lab waste from landfills to recycling and reuse initiatives. Making change, they did, with their impactful work now published in UCSB's The Current.
Kaili and Lauren's project, FLOW, aimed to create lasting improvements in laboratory waste management at UCSB. By collaborating with organizations around UCSB, including UCSB Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), and Associated Students (AS) Recycling, Kaili and Lauren's FLOW project spearheaded recycling infrastructure and educational initiatives to reduce waste and improve recycling in research spaces. Many campus labs previously struggled with waste mismanagement due to the lack of recycling bin infrastructure and confusion about what is municipally recyclable. In partnership with Facilities, The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), and Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA), FLOW addressed this issue by providing free recycling and trash receptacles and creating campus-wide lab-specific recycling signage. FLOW created the UCSB x Art From Scrap Partnership to collect non-recyclable single-use lab plastics, effectively redirecting the flow of these materials away from the landfill and towards reuse. Through strategic partnerships and targeted interventions, FLOW promoted a more sustainable approach to laboratory operations.
Check out this recently published article in The Current to learn more about this initiative.
