Single-use plastic is a topic that receives a lot of attention in the press and has catalyzed efforts to reduce the amount that is found in the ocean. Although the bulk of this pollution comes from consumer waste, the growing use of plastic in laboratories and biopharma manufacturing has not gone unnoticed. It has been estimated that 5.5 million tons of plastic waste is being generated globally for scientific research. In biopharma manufacturing, the utilization of single-use technologies (SUT) is said to be increasing by 20-24% each year. MilliporeSigma, a supplier to the biopharma industry, recognized that SUT was on the rise and developed a recycling program to address this waste stream. Since its inception in 2015, the program has recycled over 4,600 tons of SUT plastic.
Creating a recycling program to address the plastic waste generated in the biopharma industry was no easy task. The waste products from SUT are a large part of the problem. The products are made with several types of plastic and are often classified as biohazardous, making them ineligible for recycling through current methodologies. Through several iterations and pilots, MilliporeSigma was able to partner with a firm that specialized in recycling and manufacturing processes for biohazardous mixed plastic waste. This unique process was well-suited to the waste profile coming from the biopharma industry.
A key component to kicking off this program was collaboration. By bringing together two organizations with different points of view, we were able to leverage each other’s strengths to find a solution. For example, a company we partnered with, Triumvirate is an expert on the collection and proper handling of the waste, while MilliporeSigma knows the ins and outs of where customers are and what products they’re using. To get this program off the ground, MilliporeSigma made a five-year financial commitment to support the new recycling process. Through this partnership, the biopharma recycling program was able to engage 14 companies that are still recycling today. Over the years, Triumvirate has refined its recycling process and will continue to engage this industry.
While this program has been instrumental in proving that the plastic waste from SUT can be safely recycled, it still is met with challenges. One of the most important aspects to any recycling program is the need for a viable market for the recycled plastic (rplastic). The current process takes a mixed plastic shred and manufactures it into plastic lumber. This rplastic lumber has found markets in the landscape, transportation and other industries. However, there has been a desire to “close the loop” within the biopharma industry, and Triumvirate is now embarking on manufacturing plastic pallets.
Figure 1: The mixed plastic shred is manufactured into plastic lumber or rplastic lumber.
Distance is another challenge with recycling programs. It’s important to consider how far waste plastic must travel to a recycling facility. Together we determined that transporting waste more than 630 miles from its facility started to decrease the environmental benefit as compared to waste to energy incineration disposal. For example, Triumvirate’s facility near Pittsburgh, PA can’t service biopharma customers on the west coast—yet. Triumvirate is currently exploring less impactful transportation solutions for the biopharma industry on the west coast. This expansion is hoped to begin within the next year.
Though this program has been successful in recycling biopharma waste in the U.S., there’s a larger challenge to address waste in the global biopharma industry. MilliporeSigma is committed to working on creating new ways to recycle the SUT waste from locations in Europe and Asia. Consideration for the development of alternative methods must meet the challenges inherent in this waste stream. It needs to decrease the environmental footprint compared to current disposal methods and provide a new product that has a viable market. There have been many new methods created over the past five years, with promise in some of the emerging chemical recycling processes. There remains, however, the same challenges in the SUT waste itself.
Together with the biopharma industry, its suppliers and innovative recyclers, there is great hope in the development of a process that can meet these challenges.
References:
1. Urbina MA, Watts AJR, Reardon EE. Labs should cut plastic waste too. Nature 528, 479 (2015)