Re-use disposable plastic and glass items


Photo: Disposable Plastic Tubes

Problem: The majority of experiments in laboratories use some type of plastic or glassware. Whether it be plastic disposable test tubes or glass pipettes, it is unreasonable to throw them away if they are still useable.

Solution: Whenever possible take advantage of hand washing, solvent rinsing, or autoclaving to clean and reuse plastic and glassware. See our Green Washing techniques. If contamination issues are of vital importance in your laboratory try to find a lab that has less stringent requirements to reuse your plastic and glassware.

Cost: Hand washing, solvent rinsing, and autoclaving all require time and resources.

Benefit: In a world of increased oil prices and decreased supply plastics are going to become more and more difficult to come by. By reusing as much as possible we are allowing future generations to continue our way of life.