TipOne® Recycling

SAVING PLASTIC SINCE 1998

Starlab's TipOne® is the original pipette tip system designed to save single-use plastic. 

REUSE!  The tip racks are designed to be reused over and over again with our plastic-saving refill packs. 

REFILL!  Use the economical refills to save on single-use plastic.

RECYCLE!  All system components are made from recyclable polypropylene (except the HDPE bag for loose tips).

Together with our partner  REMONDIS Group you can recycle the TipOne® plastic packaging so it can have a second life.

How does the recycling service work?

To join, you must first register to use the service and to gain access to the Starlab Recycling Portal. You will find the form in the "Register Here" section below

It's easy to use!

  • Collect your TipOne® recycling in a large, sturdy box.
  • When the box is full (max. weight 10 kg), log-in to the Starlab Recycling Portal to arrange its collection
  • Create and print one courier label for each box of recycling being shipped
  • Take the recycling to your designated collection location
  • Your recycling will be collected within 2-3 working days.

For full details on the TipOne® Recycling Collection Process, please download the document below:

 

What can be recycled?

All TipOne® packaging components made of Polypropylene (PP) can be collected for recycling via the Starlab recycling service. Only clean, non-contaminated packaging please. And no tips!

Register Here

  • Complete the registration form and email it to recycling@starlab.co.uk
    so we can set up your details on our Recycling Collection Portal
  • An email with your personal log-in details will be sent from support-starlab@remondis-recycling.de
  • As soon as you have access to the Portal, you can start organising collections
  • No other set-up needed, your account will be pre-filled with your details

FAQs

Q:  How does the service work?
A:  Collect your recycling in a large cardboard box. Recycling is provided in partnership with Replano (part of the Remondis Group). You corganise the collection of your boxes yourself, as and when convenient for you, via an online portal.

Q:  What is the cost of using this service?
A:  This service is currently free of charge for all Starlab UK TipOne® customers located in England, Wales or Scotland. The service is currently unavailable in Northern Ireland (sorry!).

Q:  Do I have to use a specific browser for the Recycling Portal? 
A:  No. However, we recommend Firefox as this facilitates the use of the site better.   

Q:  Where can I get help if: a) I forget my password, b) my login doesn’t work, c) I am having problems printing the label 
A:  Email: support-starlab@remondis-recycling.de 

Q:  What should I do if my contact details change, ie name, collection address or e-mail etc? 
A:   Please contact: recycling@starlab.co.uk

Q:  What are the ‘Order No’, ‘Parcel No’, ‘Date from’ and ‘Date to’ fields on the portal?
A:  Once you have your log-in and can access the portal, no set-up is required. Your name, company details etc are pre-filled. To organise a collection you just need to click the Create Label button to generate one courier label per box being returned. Your collection history will be stored on the portal and this can be exported to excel for reporting purposes. The fields mentioned above can be used to search/filter your collection history by Order No., by date or by Tracking No. (Parcel No.) should you wish to do so.

Q: I can no longer access my account?
A:  In line with data protection laws, any account not accessed over any 6 month period will be inactivated. An email will be sent prior to inactivation. If you regularly use your account and are unable to access, please contact: support-starlab@replano.com

Q:  What TipOne® packaging components can I return for recycling?
A:   The blue racks, the coloured tip wafers, the clear bottom shells and lids from the refill systems, and all layers (blue or clear) and lid of the Stack Racks can all be returned for recycling. Nothing else! No plastic bags or wrap, and no pipette tips! And please, no plastic from other manufacturer's tips systems. TipOne® polypropylene packaging ONLY can be returned.

Q:  Why can’t I send other plastics for recycling too? 
A:  Other manufacturers racks may not be made from 100% Polypropylene, or even if they are, the material may not be as high quality as ours.
Please do not contaminate your TipOne® recycling with non-TipOne® plastic items from other manufacturers’ tip systems, or any other products or types of plastic. The recycling will be rejected if it contains plastic other than TipOne®. Recycling collections will be monitored to ensure only TipOne® polypropylene is being returned and you may be asked to leave the scheme if you continue to return non TipOne® items and or mixed plastics. 
Why is this important? Starlab will use the material to manufacture, new high-quality PP products from your TipOne® recycling and close the loop! We can only reuse the plastic in this way if the plastic returned is from a single source, ie TipOne® polypropylene only. Therefore, it is very important to the whole process that our customers support us fully in this initiative, by returning boxes that contain TipOne® polypropylene packaging only.

Q: Do I need to autoclave the recycling before return?
A: Although the items that can be returned do not usually come into direct contact with samples, Starlab cannot provide a definitive answer to this. Only you know what your TipOne® plastic may or may not have come into contact with, and how and where it has been used. When organising a collection, you are asked to tick the “contamination-free” declaration.

Q: Can I use boxes for the recycling that are not TipOne® case packaging?
A: Only in exceptional cases. The service is currently designed around the TipOne® case box sizes and the maximum weights, so please use TipOne® case boxes if you can. This makes the whole process greener as the same box is used from manufacturing to recycling. All boxes used to return your recycling are recycled too! However, if you are really stuck, you can use any strong box with the approximate dimensions of 57 x 45 x 27 cm, but please do ensure that the box is strong enough for the weight of the contents and its safe transit.

Q:  Is there a limit to how many boxes I can send at once?
A: No. But to ensure both space on the collection van and to limit transportation, please try to send around 2 to 4 boxes at a time.

Q:  Is there a limit to the weight of the boxes I send?
A: Many of the TipOne® packaging components are designed to be stacked inside each other, which means you can get more of them in the box. Please try to fill your box to reach the maximum weight of 10kg. This will reduce both packaging and transportation and make the whole collection process as green as possible.

Q: How do I get a mailing label?
A: Log into the portal and click the Create Label button to generate a pdf and print.

Q: If I have multiple boxes, do I need to generate multiple labels?
A: Yes. You must create, print and attach a separate courier label for each box being shipped.

Q:  Which courier company will collect the recycling?
A:  DHL Express

Q:  Do I need to contact DHL about the collection? 
A:  No. The creation of the label informs DHL that a collection is ready. You just need to affix the label(s) to your box(es) and take it/them to your designated collection area (this location is pre-printed on the courier label too).

Q:  Can I track the parcel shipment?
A:  Yes. On the portal, click on the Tracking icon for the parcel you want to track.

Q:  How long does it take for the recycling to be collected? 
A:  Within 2 to 3 working days of the label being created. However, once you have created the label(s) please take the box(es) to the collection point. Creating the label informs the courier a collection is ready, and depending on their schedule, they could even turn up sooner.

Q:  Who do I contact if the box is not collected? 
A:  support-starlab@remondis-recycling.de

Q:  What happens to my recycling? 
A:  The material is ground, dedusted and homogenized. Material obtained in this way is now available as a raw material for reuse. From January 2025, in conjunction with the start of the process to move TipOne® manufacturing from USA to Germany, Starlab has closed the loop! We started reusing the plastic from the TipOne® recycling service to manufacture the base of TipOne® racks made in Germany. 

For more info, please go to starlab.click/tipone

  

"I am often asked how we, as a manufacturer of plastic products, can be sustainable at all. Well, our TipOne® products can be reused, refilled and recycled too. Join us and register right now with our new TipOne® recycling service in UK!"


Dr. Lennart Walter,
Product Lifecycle Manager, Starlab