Materials: Opentrons tips are made from 100% polypropylene (PP).
Recycling process: PP plastic will often have a printed ‘resin code’ (5 for PP), which is useful during recycling, as they indicate what type of plastic it is. This ensures the separation and efficient recycling of different plastic types.
Nonhazardous micropipette tips can be collected for recycling. Collect in a puncture-proof container. BL1 and BL2 tips must be decontaminated with bleach or alcohol before being deposited into a recycling bin. Pharmaceutical contamination would also prevent the recycling of tips.
Always check with the environmental, health, and safety office at your institution first. Sometimes finding a pipette tip inside a recycling collection container will automatically make everything considered “trash”. Your institution’s recycling program rules will be dependent on EPA, OSHA, local hazardous waste regulations, and the municipal recycling services that are available.
Materials: Opentrons P20 and P1000 tip racks are made out of ABS plastic.
Recycling process: Please see 3drific.com for more information on recycling ABS Plastic
ABS plastic uses recycling number 7.
ABS needs to be processed separately. On the industrial scale, this is automated via froth flotation, where a water-oil mixture helps sort the ABS from other particles.
At home, and at the municipal level, this will largely be done at the collection stage. ABS should be kept in a separate container and transported in the same compartmentalized manner. Some municipalities may employ workers to manually separate plastic, but this is clearly error-prone, and may not work as well as separation at the collection stage.
Once ABS plastic has been separated as much as possible, the next step in the recycling process is grinding.
Other resources like TerraCycle are specifically designed for tip racks.
Materials: Opentrons P300 tip racks are made out of polycarbonate plastic (PC).
Recycling process: Please see https://www.terracycle.com for more information on recycling PC plastic
PC plastic uses recycling number 7.
This is a notoriously difficult process, so we recommend selecting a company like TerraCycle or contacting your institution to review their recycling program’s rules.
Please contact us at [email protected] or through Opentrons Messenger if you have more questions or suggestions about the above.
