Plastic or cardboard containers in laboratories?

We all know about plastic, the waste that results from its use and the environmental concerns it causes.

When laboratories choose a container for liquids, they sre sometimes tempted to choose corrugated cardboard, like for cubitainers of all sizes, as the plastic bag is a small amount of plastic to dispose of and the cardboard box is recyclable

However, infectious control requirements may shed another light on this choice. “Corrugated cardboard boxes are susceptible to moisture, water, vermin and bacteria during warehouse or storeroom storage, as well as transportation environments.  Boxes and containers may have been exposed to unknown and potentially high microbial contamination.” *

For this reason, many labs are now aiming for a cardboard free environment to avoid these issues and maintain a good grip on infection control.

Which leaves the recycling of empty plasticware to be addressed. Some companies such as Chaptec, offer programs that tackle this challenge. Chaptec recuperates empty reagents containers and refills them with the same product that was originally in them. They feel that this service avoided sending 4 million plus containers to trash over the past few years.

Sometimes there is more than the eye can see and in this case, plastic sure seems to be the right choice!