A Circular Recycling Solution: Transforming Laboratory Waste at the University of Pittsburgh

Like many universities, the University of Pittsburgh faces a significant challenge in managing plastic waste across its 2,000+ laboratories. Traditional single-stream recycling programs proved ineffective for laboratory plastics, prompting the university to seek innovative, sustainable solutions. 

By partnering with Polycarbin–a circular economy platform founded by two former University of Pittsburgh medical students–Pitt implemented a closed-loop recycling initiative that dramatically reduces lab plastic waste to landfills, supports University-wide sustainability goals, and empowers students, faculty, and researchers to ask for and implement environmental stewardship.

This case study demonstrates how Polycarbin helped transform Pitt’s laboratory waste into new lab supplies while continuing to embed sustainability into campus culture.

Challenge

For the University of Pittsburgh, sustainability isn’t just a goal; it’s a commitment led by passionate advocates like Sam Chan, the Assistant Director of Sustainability. Sam is focused on reducing the university's environmental impact and making sustainability part of daily life on campus.

Like many research institutions, the University of Pittsburgh's laboratories produce a large amount of single-use plastic waste. With 68 sustainability goals, including being carbon neutral by 2037, the Sustainability team was driven to find a solution.

Sam explained, “Most of our lab waste was either sent out to single-stream recycling or straight to the landfill.” Even when recycling bins weren’t contaminated, most materials from laboratory settings aren’t compatible with typical municipal recycling facilities. As a result, they ultimately ended up as landfill waste regardless.

University of Pittsburgh labs have sampled various specialty recycling programs over time. “We have a few labs that participate in a glove takeback effort, which helped make a recycled plastic bench for campus,” Sam explained. “We also previously recycled water purification filters, but that program was discontinued by the company we partnered with.”

Many traditional recycling programs rely on waste-to-energy methods, which truck materials to a facility where they are burned to generate energy—a process that falls short of recycling’s circular economy potential. Other material diversion efforts can involve downcycling (i.e., turning waste into lower quality or value items), which, while helpful, also doesn’t fully close the loop. 

“I wanted a recycling solution where I could prove the materials were truly being recycled and reintroduced back into the market as products,” Sam explained. With this in mind, Sam and her team sought a partner to offer more than waste-to-energy or downcycling. They wanted a true closed-loop solution. 

Solution

When Sam learned about Polycarbin’s approach, the choice was clear. “With Polycarbin, our plastic waste would leave a Pitt lab and go to the next lab as a new product,” Sam continued. “I knew this would make a compelling case for people to want to participate, so we chose Polycarbin.”

Polycarbin’s circular economy solution is a significant improvement over traditional waste-to-energy approaches. "With the pipette tip box recycling program, we've been able to divert those materials into a circular economy, which we are excited about," Sam noted.

With over 2,000 labs spread across various locations and zip codes (including hospital-adjacent settings), a one-size-fits-all approach was not feasible. The onboarding process with Polycarbin was a true partnership. Their Polycarbin team worked collaboratively with Sam and Pitt’s sustainability stakeholder group to tailor a solution that addressed these unique challenges. A shared openness to feedback helped tailor the program to Pitt’s diverse lab needs, which include a blended offering of both mail-back boxes and gaylord collection of materials on building docks that are then moved by University and external haulers.

Results

The integration of Polycarbin offerings has helped reduce the amount of plastic waste sent to landfills and supported the University’s commitment to sustainability. Pitt easily tracks University-wide progress using Polycarbin’s Carbin Counter™ interactive dashboard and exportable reports, helping demonstrate the tangible impact.

In the first six months, 661 pounds of pipette tip boxes were recycled via mail back, and five full gaylords are awaiting pick-up, proving the offering’s impact from the start. “The community has been excited and engaged in this offering, which we love to see,” Sam shared. 

However, the program’s impact goes beyond simple diversion; it’s helping transform lab culture on campus and off. “Students who see Pitt recycling lab plastics while learning here are informed and empowered to ask about similar initiatives in their future workplaces, especially where specialty recycling like this might not yet exist,” Sam explained. “Recycling lab plastics is about more than just reducing waste. It’s about equipping the next generation to be advocates for sustainability.”

Conclusion

The University of Pittsburgh's partnership with Polycarbin provides a roadmap for how institutions can tackle the complex challenges of laboratory waste management through innovative, sustainable solutions. By working with Polycarbin, Pitt isn’t just cutting waste. It has created a model for sustainability that other institutions can follow.

For laboratories and institutions striving to manage research waste more effectively, Polycarbin offers a pathway to a more sustainable future that integrates environmental stewardship into everyday operations and inspires the next generation to do the same. As Sam concluded, “Polycarbin was the clear choice because we were looking for a circular economy solution.”

Join Us in Building the World’s First True Circular Economy

At Polycarbin, we believe that single-use waste does not have to be the cost of innovation. By reducing waste, cutting emissions, and empowering scientists to take action, we are building a new standard for sustainable innovation—empowering scientists to create true circularity.

Ready to see how much your lab can decarbonize?
Get in touch with us today for a consultation and learn how your lab can be part of the Polycarbin mission and help make science more sustainable!