An interview with Polycarbin

Is there any issue that vexes biologists like the environmental consequences of single-use plastic waste generated by lab work? Our latest interview features a unique, fast-growing company launched by former researchers in training at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Polycarbin helps biologists recycle their lab plastics, use tubes and pipette tip boxes re-manufactured with recycled lab plastics, and meaningfully, see data quantifying how their actions reduce their carbon footprint.

Enjoy reading our Q&A below, and thank you for being "labconscious"!

“The difference here is that this material is extremely high-quality plastic, it’s scientific and often medical-grade plastic that can be used in a higher-end product than something like a park bench that can’t be recycled again and for which there is not as much demand as there is waste. We need to make sure that we are putting it in an endpoint that is its highest-use form so that it can be reused time and time again. That is the best way to preserve its value and minimize its environmental impact.”

— Noah Pyles, Polycarbin Co-founder