eye on equipment
Greening of the Labs
by Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC
Green energy plans abound, including wind power, hydropower, solar power, and other renewable energy technologies. The goal is to make conservation second nature in order to save money, resources, and the Earth.
Labs, including in-office labs, can help by taking steps to green up.
DRY-CUT EDGING
For surfacing labs, dry-cut generating technology requires no reclaim water filtration system, eliminating the need to dispose of liquid waste materials.
A vacuum works to hold dry waste material in a disposal bag which then can be tossed into a garbage container, helping keep lab environments clean. Dry-cut generating helps save on water consumption and eliminates the need for water treatment chemicals and coolants.
Davis Vision—whose regional labs process over 7,500 orders daily—has converted to dry-cut edging to trim up-front product cost and create waste stream improvements.
"Our primary lab is located on Long Island, N.Y., where waste disposal regulations are pretty strict," explains Michael O'Connor, senior vice president, manufacturing, for Davis Vision in Plainview, N.Y.
Making a move to a dry-cut process and having the resulting waste carted off by an approved recycler means that, "we can assure complete compliance with all external regulations in addition to being environmentally responsible," he notes.
"When we used wet edging systems, we used fresh water, not a re-circulating system for the quality of the end product," he says. "When we switched to dry-cut edging, our water bills fell a thousand fold, saving money and natural resources."
| NOISE POLLUTION |
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| An advantage of today's wet-cut edgers is quiet operation: tight grinding seals help cut down on noise. In addition to being better for lab employees long-term hearing, quieter operation ensures less distraction and better communication throughout the practice. In addition, an edger that shuts down in between cuts eliminates extra noise and also reduces energy use. |
A one-location in-office lab, Andre's Eyewear Boutique in San Diego, also utilizes dry-cut edging.
"With dry-cut equipment it's easy to dispose of waste," says owner Andre Domby. "I purchased dry-cut equipment for the ease of disposing waste. Also, it doesn't create a mess and is good for the environment."
WET-CUT EDGING
Today's wet-cut edging systems feature environmentally friendly filtration systems on the waste tank to catch particulate before it goes down the drain. Modern systems are RoHS (Removal of Hazardous Substance) compliant so that all electronic boards are free of lead and other harmful substances.
Efficient wet-cut systems use significantly less water during processing and filter out debris, allowing operators to dispose of swarf in accordance with local regulations.
Brian Lacy, lab manager of Eyecare & Eyewear of Carrolton in Carrolton, Texas, appreciates the practice's new wet-cut edger recycling system for its low maintenance and reduction of swarf and its mess.
"I only have to clean out one dirty pump once a week, a big improvement from previous systems," he says. "I created a double-net system to trap swarf using the manufacturer's net plus my own nylon net. A biodegradable solution keeps swarf foam down, and during disposal we don't splash debris on our clothes anymore."
In some cases, re-circulating water can help reduce water usage, and re-circulating and direct water systems can help eliminate dust. Specific water delivery systems help eliminate odors with aspirators.
For Eyecare & Eyewear, an air filtering system vacuums air out of the cutting chamber and also absorbs odor.
| Reduce, Reuse, Recycle |
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| West Coast Lens, an independent wholesale lab in Huntington Beach, Calif., was founded with a green perspective and is active in green lab practices beyond running green production lines. "The hardest part of greening your lab is getting everyone to understand how important it is that we recycle everything that's recyclable," says founder and owner Richard Wilhelm. Following are just a few examples of the firm's green efforts. ■ 13 pounds of recycled office paper daily, roughly 3,276 pounds or 1.6 tons of office paper per year. ■ 14 pounds a day of recycled glass, plastic, and aluminum, roughly 3,692 pounds a year, or 1.8 tons. ■ 10 pounds per day recycled paper, in addition to re-using cardboard, around 2,640 pounds or 1.3 tons a year. ■ 100 percent recycled, never bleached, paper is the paper used for office needs. ■ 16 employees recycle 4.7 tons of reusable materials a year. |
Lacy adds: "The system also releases a fragrance to offset odors, so there's no noxious fumes or offensive smell from cutting high index and other materials. This is essential in a high-end practice like ours; it helps us maintain our upscale reputation with patients and is good for employee health and esteem." EB
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