Teaching laboratories at UC Davis send thousands of pounds of nitrile gloves to landfills each year.
Both the upstream and downstream consequences of purchasing and disposing this waste have
significantly negative impacts on our campus sustainability efforts. To divert some of this waste and help
reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions associated with nitrile glove waste, the Organic Chemistry
teaching lab will pilot a nitrile glove waste diversion program in partnership with the Green Workplace
program offered by UC Davis Sustainability. This effort will serve as a pilot project to evaluate the
potential for establishing broader campus-wide nitrile and other laboratory supply recycling programs.
Funds provided by this grant will primarily support a centralized glove aggregation unit serviced by
Polycarbin, a company who specializes in recycling and downcycling laboratory supply waste. Polycarbin
will collect the gloves, process the material into new products, and provide valuable data on the overall
waste diversion impact of this lab glove recycling effort.