About Us
Founded by two physician scientists in training at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Polycarbin got its start in 2020.
Today, Polycarbin is a platform for recycling and remanufacturing lab plastics. Our mission is to maximize landfill diversion, decrease the environmental impact of innovation, and reduce the scientific community's dependence on fossil fuels. So what does this look like in practice?
Polycarbin built the first circular economy for lab plastics - now scientists don't have to choose between human and planetary health.
Circular economy? Perhaps you've heard the term, perhaps it's a first. In the words of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it is a systematic approach designed to eliminate waste, recirculate products and materials (at their highest value) and regenerate nature.
Why circular? We believe a circular economy establishes an inextricable link between producers and consumers, creating a community committed to resource stewardship that ultimately maximizes use-cycles while minimizing the impact of that resource on our environment.
So how does Polycarbin compare to traditional recyclers?
A circular economy is conceptually very different from traditional 'recycling' or 'downcycling.' These systems involve shifting materials from one industry to another, where the resource either can't or won't be recycled again.
Some recyclers transform high turnover items like pipette tip boxes into low turnover items like trash cans or benches. Not only does the imbalance in volume of these two products create an imbalance between supply and demand, the downcycled plastic either can't be recycled again, thereby limiting it to one reuse cycle.
A circular economy is focused on recirculating materials so that they can be remanufactured and re-used, time and time again.
Polycarbin remanufactures laboratory products into the next generation laboratory consumables ensuring a balanced equation between resource supply and demand and, most importantly, compounding the environmental benefit through virtually limitless use-cycles.
Where you can find us and how you can participate
We have established numerous satellite locations in Northern and Southern California, and Eastern Massachusetts where we are able efficiently process single-use scientific plastics for a diverse range of industries.
Outside of these core geographies, any scientist or innovator can participate in Closed-Loop recycling through Polycarbin’s mailback programs, and our consumables are available throughout North America and Europe through authorized distributors.
