Can't glassware be clean and green?

By Odette Nolan, Product Manager

On June 27, 2013 in Articles

According to the EPA, each person creates 1,600 pounds of garbage per year, which means 3.5 billion pounds of garbage goes into our landfills. That doesn't even include industrial and commercial garbage.

2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown into landfills, and 90% of the garbage in our oceans is plastic. Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the entire commercial airline fleet every three months. So what do laboratory glassware washers have to do with all of this?

Look at the options of labware we have these days and how they can affect our footprint on earth. If you are using disposable labware, consider changing to reusable glassware. Outside testing on the Labconco FlaskScrubber® shows that glassware comes out analytically clean each and every time. Want proof? Contact me for a complete copy of the EPA Report.

“Recycling Revolution” states that the energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials. By reusing your lab glassware, you’re not only saving money, but the environment. Not only do Labconco glassware washers clean your glassware, but Labconco as a company recycles approximately 3,000 – 5,000 pounds of glass each year from our manufacturing locations in the U.S.A.

Second, how are you washing your labware? By hand? Using a residential dishwasher? Think about this. On average, hand washing uses 20 gallons to wash 30 pieces. Labconco glassware washers use as little as 10 gallons of water to wash twice the amount of glassware when both the top and lower racks are used. Plus, Labconco glassware washers have a delay start which allows running the washer during off peak hours saving up to 50% of energy costs.

Domestic dishwashers are made for cleaning cereal bowls, not laboratory glassware. They do not offer a DI rinse and can’t process narrow neck glassware. Many are made of plastic and, if not made of recycled plastic components, may take 100 years or more to decompose in a land fill.1 Labconco washers are made up of 90% stainless steel, which is 100% recyclable. Nearly the entire unit may be recycled after its lifetime—on average 10 to 15 years, longer in many cases.

We all need to lessen our carbon footprint by taking responsibility for our environment. Consider buying a Labconco glassware washer and help make a difference in your laboratory.

For more on plastics and the environment, check into the artcle, "Plastic Ocean Debris is Focus of New Bill" by Jason Dearen in Laboratory Equipment Magazine.