Plastic has invaded our personal and professional lives since the 1950s. Laboratories are also concerned and especially since they are heavy consumers of this material that has become problematic. Since its appearance in our lives, plastic has accumulated everywhere in the environment, in the form of visible but also less visible waste, appearing as micro- and nano-plastic. This persistent waste causes damage to living beings and all ecosystems. In research laboratories, as elsewhere, there is an urgent need to react and implement solutions that combine the immediate reduction of plastic consumption with better waste management. There is no longer a choice, we have to learn to do without it as much as possible and to manage it better, even in our professional practices, but how? This question was the subject of a round table during the 37th AFH congress, hosted in Saint-Malo in June 2024. This article gives some key elements of this context which served as a basis for leading two sessions, organized in the form of a funny workshop, in small groups, in order to exchange, share, debate around the importance of the responsible use of plastic in the histology laboratories while encouraging reflection on sustainable solutions.
Here is a synthesis of the sharing of the experiences of the 2 groups of participants and the practical ideas collected on that occasion on how to reduce the plastic footprint in histology laboratories on a daily basis. Together, we have identified the levers of action to be shared with as many people as possible to succeed in meeting this enormous but essential challenge.