Following the successful establishment in Germany, Austria, France and the United Kingdom, Starlab is further expanding its innovative recycling program for laboratory plastics: From now on, Italian laboratories can also participate in the TipOne® recycling service.
In cooperation with the REMONDIS Group, the company further continues its path to more sustainable pipetting, with a closed-loop circular economy in the laboratory. This expansion is a logical step in the European growth strategy of the Hamburg-based laboratory products manufacturer."With the launch of our recycling service in Italy, we are responding to the high demand from the southern European market," explains Klaus Ambos, Managing Director of Starlab International GmbH. "Our vision of a closed-loop circular economy for our best-selling product in the laboratory can now become reality in another important market."
The success story of the TipOne® Recycling Service is based on the close cooperation with recycling experts of the REMONDIS Resource Management GmbH. Since the beginning of the partnership in 2020, the program has continued to develop: After the successful launch in Germany and Austria 2021, the expansion to the UK followed in 2022 and then to France in 2023. Ambos: "The development is impressive. Of the labs where Starlab supplies TipOne® tips, 23% are already participating in the program, and the recycling rate of TipOne® product was 24% in 2024."
Starlab and REMONDIS have developed a collection service that makes it possible to recycle laboratory plastics in a high-quality way. By consistently using polypropylene (PP) only in the TipOne® system, Starlab can process the collected materials directly and efficiently into PP material as good as new. Since the beginning of 2025, new TipOne® racks manufactured in Germany have been made with recycled TipOne® material for the first time. "The reuse of plastics for laboratory applications in the closed loop places particularly high demands on the recycling process" explains Simon Sauer, Managing Director of REMONDIS Resource Management GmbH. "Thanks to Starlab's consistent use of a single material and the well-thought-out take-back system, we can guarantee high-quality recycling. This partnership is an example of how the circular economy works even in demanding areas."
"Quality and sustainability have always been inextricably linked for us," emphasises Dr. Lennart Walter, TipOne® Product Manager at Starlab. "Our pipette tips are manufactured from 100 percent pure polypropylene under cleanroom conditions. Through automated injection moulding and assembly processes, and the use of multi-cavity moulds, we achieve the highest level of compliance within each batch.”The company tests every product for RNase, DNase, DNA and pyrogens, and sterilisation process is validated according to EN ISO 11137-2.This uncompromising focus on quality forms the basis for the recycling concept: The system includes reusable racks, resource-saving refill packs and, since the beginning of the year, closed-loop recycling of TipOne® system components.
The success of the concept proves the concept right: Only recently, the German government honoured the innovative recycling program with a research allowance – Starlab was the first company in the industry to receive this recognition from the certification body for research allowance (BSFZ). With the increasing demand for sustainable laboratory solutions, and Italy being the fifth country to launch the recycling service, Starlab underlines its pioneering role in the journey towards more sustainable pipetting. The expansion into Italy is another important step in systematically reducing laboratory waste in Europe and returning it to the recycling cycle.
The REMONDIS Group is one of the world's largest recycling, service and water companies. The group of companies is present in Europe, Asia and Australia with its comprehensive activities for a sustainable supply of raw materials and water. More than 40,000 employees work at over 1,000 locations in more than 30 countries for more than 30 million citizens and many thousands of companies. Its subsidiary, REMONDIS Resource Management GmbH, specialises in the complex management of both material flows for recycling and reusable items for recycling. The company offers services such as collection, sorting, cleaning and transport as well as customised material processing. More information at remondis.de.
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