(154v) Tidytron: Reducing Lab Waste Using Validated Wash-and-Reuse Protocols for Common Plasticware in Opentrons OT-2 Lab Robots

Every year biomolecular laboratories generate a combined total of ~5.5 million tons of plastic waste in their pursuit of scientific discovery and engineering goals. To increase sustainability and simultaneously reduce recurring costs of biomolecular research, the automation of plastic-ware cleaning using liquid handling robots is a promising solution. However, open-source, validated protocols using low-cost lab robotics for effectively removing contaminants from plasticware—facilitating their safe reuse—have not yet been developed. Here we have developed and validated protocols for cleaning micropipette tips and microtiter plates that are contaminated with DNA, E. coli, and S. cerevisae. We tested a variety of cleaning solutions, contact times, agitation methods, and useful durations with the aim of minimizing corrosion and cost, while maximizing cleaning stringency and sustainability. We tested and validated these cleaning procedures by comparing fresh versus cleaned tips for contamination with DNA/cells or the cleaning solutions. We assessed contamination by measuring colony forming units by plating, event counts and debris by flow cytometry, and PCR efficiency and DNA concentration by qPCR. Open source cleaning protocols will be made available at https://github.com/PlantSynBioLab/opentrons-sustainability.