Following its successful establishment in Germany, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom, Starlab is further expanding its innovative recycling program for laboratory plastics. Italian laboratories can now participate in the TipOne® recycling service. In cooperation with the REMONDIS Group, the company continues its path toward more sustainable pipetting with a closed-loop circular economy in the laboratory.
This expansion is a logical step in the European growth strategy of the Hamburg-based laboratory products manufacturer. "With the launch of our recycling service in Italy, we are responding to the high demand from the southern European market," explains Klaus Ambos, Managing Director of Starlab International GmbH. "Our vision of a closed-loop circular economy for our best-selling product in the laboratory can now become a reality in another important market."
Cooperation with the REMONDIS Group
The success of the TipOne® Recycling Service is based on close cooperation with the recycling experts at REMONDIS Resource Management GmbH. Since the beginning of the partnership in 2020, the program has continued to develop. After the successful launch in Germany and Austria in 2021, the expansion to the UK followed in 2022 and then to France in 2023.
Ambos states, "The development is impressive. Of the labs where Starlab supplies TipOne® tips, 23% are already participating in the program, and the recycling rate of TipOne® products was 24% in 2024."
Recycling: a prerequisite for the closed loop
Starlab and REMONDIS have developed a collection service that enables high-quality recycling of laboratory plastics. By using only polypropylene (PP) in the TipOne® system, Starlab can process collected materials directly and efficiently into new PP material. Since the beginning of 2025, new TipOne® racks manufactured in Germany have been made with recycled TipOne® material for the first time.
"The reuse of plastics for laboratory applications in the closed loop places particularly high demands on the recycling process," explains Simon Sauer, Managing Director of REMONDIS Resource Management GmbH. "Thanks to Starlab's consistent use of a single material and a well-thought-out take-back system, we can guarantee high-quality recycling. This partnership is an example of how the circular economy works even in demanding areas."
Highest quality material as the basis for sustainable recycling
"Quality and sustainability have always been inextricably linked for us," emphasises Dr. Lennart Walter, TipOne® Product Manager at Starlab. "Our pipette tips are manufactured from 100% pure polypropylene under cleanroom conditions. Through automated injection moulding and assembly processes and the use of multi-cavity moulds, we achieve the highest level of compliance within each batch."
The company tests every product for RNase, DNase, DNA, and pyrogens, and the sterilisation process is validated according to EN ISO 11137-2. This uncompromising focus on quality forms the basis for the recycling concept. The system includes reusable racks, resource-saving refill packs, and, since the beginning of the year, closed-loop recycling of TipOne® system components.
The success of the concept speaks for itself. Recently, the German government honoured the innovative recycling program with a research allowance—Starlab was the first company in the industry to receive this recognition from the certification body for research allowance (BSFZ). With increasing demand for sustainable laboratory solutions and Italy becoming the fifth country to launch the recycling service, Starlab underlines its pioneering role in the journey toward more sustainable pipetting. The expansion into Italy is another important step in systematically reducing laboratory waste in Europe and returning it to the recycling cycle.
