Startup Launches the First Pilot Facility in the UK for Recycling Laboratory Plastic Waste

LabCycle, a UK-based startup co-founded by Dr. Helen Liang, an alumna of the University of Bath, has achieved a significant milestone by successfully launching the United Kingdom's inaugural pilot plant dedicated to recycling plastic laboratory waste.

With the support of the University of Bath, LabCycle has established its pilot recycling facility within a converted greenhouse on the university's campus, where the company is actively developing its innovative recycling technology. The LabCycle team has forged collaborations with various stakeholders, including private companies, public institutions, and government bodies. Notably, they have partnered with the local National Health System (NHS) Blood and Transplant unit to recycle waste generated in their laboratories.

While LabCycle has not publicly disclosed the precise details of its plastic recycling method, Dr. Liang shared in an interview with the University of Bath that it employs a combination of chemical and mechanical processes designed to eliminate hazardous contaminants. She emphasized that the technology adheres to NHS standards and incorporates safety protocols from various research institutes. Remarkably, the patent-pending approach does not necessitate the autoclaving of waste before it enters the recycling process, thereby reducing the consumption of heat energy. Additionally, water can be reused within the recycling process, minimizing its overall usage. The effectiveness of the method has received validation from the University of Bath's Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies (iCAST). Extensive testing has demonstrated that the recycled polymers, including polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), meet the necessary criteria to create new laboratory consumables.

Currently, the United Kingdom recycles less than 1% of laboratory plastic waste, as researchers heavily rely on single-use plastics in their daily experiments to prevent cross-contamination. LabCycle's ambitious goal is to recycle up to 60% of this waste, encompassing items such as pipette tips, test tubes, petri dishes, and multi-well plates, ultimately producing high-quality plastic pellets. The startup has established a partnership with an undisclosed manufacturer capable of transforming these pellets into new laboratory equipment.

Building on the success of a pilot project focused on recycling single-use plastic waste from three laboratories at the University of Bath in 2022, LabCycle is now actively working to commercialize its service. The startup has secured approximately GBP 430,000 in funding to further develop and bring its technology to market.

Dr. Liang emphasized the importance of adopting a circular economy approach within laboratory practices to minimize waste generation and resource consumption. She urged researchers and healthcare professionals to prioritize reducing and reusing single-use plastic items whenever possible. Dr. Liang also stressed the need for proper waste segregation to enable effective recycling, underscoring the role of LabCycle's pioneering initiative in driving positive change in the laboratory industry.