Eppendorf Safe-Lock Tubes BioBased

Disposal of Eppendorf Tubes^® BioBased and their packaging material

Recycling of materials becomes more and more important every day. E.g. in Europe almost 100 % of cardboard material is already recycled. The packaging material of the Eppendorf Tubes^® BioBased is made of different materials – for the most part made from cardboard.
Eppendorf consumables and thus also Eppendorf Tubes^® BioBased are shipped in packaging in which both the shipping carton and the folding carton consist of at least 92 % recycled cardboard.
Please support our global sustainability initiative of recycling valuable raw material by collecting the cardboard packaging material of tubes. Dispose of the packaging material in the designated collection containers in your organization and region.
After usage, the tubes themselves are defined as potentially being contaminated. This contamination can be based on biohazard, chemical hazard, or even nuclear hazard. Therefore, recycling of these vessels can be challenging. In many countries, critical waste must be burned due to legal restrictions. However, energy and heat can be recovered from thermal recycling of contaminated laboratory consumables.
To reduce the amount of critical plastic waste, you should use at least two waste containers: One for critical waste and one for non-critical waste. The definition of these two groups may depend on local regulations and should be communicated/ trained in your lab accordingly. For further local waste recycling options please contact your local biosafety officer and your local waste management.
We strongly recommend a certified local recycling partner. Keeping it "local", will reduce the impact of transportation, and the "certified" aspect is recommended due to the safe and sustainable handling of lab waste.