Landfill Last

Let’s face it; landfills are awful. They’re eyesores, smell terrible, attract vermin, and take up valuable space. Beyond these obvious traits, landfills are one of the chief sources of environmental degradation on this planet. It would be impossible, in fact, to cover all of the negative effects of landfills in a single post. Let’s look at the two biggest reasons landfills are so toxic and how REUZEit’s mission can reduce landfill waste. How Landfills Affect Soil  It’s safe to say that nearly everything that is thrown away ends up in landfills. And it’s also safe to say that most people don’t think about the chemical makeup of their trash. When waste breaks down, the toxins within seep directly into the ground. Even the most innocuous items - a child’s teddy bear or an old reclining chair - contain toxic compounds that can contaminate soil.  Even if it didn’t take decades - or longer - for landfill waste to fully decompose, the ground underneath is rendered permanently toxic. Electronic waste, or e-waste, contributes in two ways: electronic devices and lab equipment have a long shelf life, and they contain compounds and elements (cadmium and mercury in particular) that are particularly toxic.  How Landfills Affect Groundwater  One of the most insidious by-products of landfills is a term that most people have never heard of: leachate. Much of the waste that ends up in a landfill will eventually begin breaking down. Precipitation - rain, snow, or even dew and fog - will filter through the decomposing waste and leach into the soil. Eventually, despite efforts to contain it, some of this contaminated water will enter the water table–the top layer of the earth’s groundwater supply).  It’s not hard to see why this is bad. And sadly, e-waste has made it worse; the metals and plastics found in electronic devices, including lab equipment, contain high amounts of heavy metals and chemicals.  Keeping Lab Equipment Out Of Landfills We’ve noted that e-waste is a major contributor to landfill waste, and the problem is getting worse. But there is a silver lining; much, perhaps even most, of the lab equipment that organizations discard is able to be reused. One of the easiest ways to keep lab equipment out of landfills is by purchasing refurbished and surplus equipment. REUZEit works with our network of labs and companies to purchase surplus equipment, refurbish it so that it’s in perfect working order, and then sell it to other organizations. We’re committed to supporting a circular economy, one that reduces landfill waste by extending the working life of lab equipment. By doing so, we’re part of the global effort to preserve and protect our soil and groundwater. And when you purchase used lab equipment, you’re also making a positive impact. How REUZEit Can Positively Impact the Earth and Your Business   Investing in laboratory equipment for your scientific research is completely a necessary cost, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive one! Money saved on one product can be used to finance another resource that is just as important to your progress. Harness the technology you need to fuel significant scientific research. Whether you’re searching for innovative chemistry lab equipment or looking to replace broken lab equipment, REUZEit offers low-cost solutions that work as hard as you do. Browse the best surplus and gently used biotech and pharmaceutical equipment on the market! Check out our USA-based store or our European Store to shop discount laboratory equipment.

We might not realize it, but the lab can produce a lot of waste that could have otherwise been avoided by taking a couple of extra steps or precautionary measures. At REUZEit, we have a Landfill Last mantra and do our due diligence to reduce waste by reselling used lab equipment that would otherwise have ended up as trash. Today we’re going to be talking about what else you can do to reduce waste in the lab and reduce waste that goes into our landfills.   Take inventory of Your Waste Taking inventory of your waste can be an eye-opening experience. According to a waste management audit at the University of Washington, lab gloves can account for around 23% of the total lab waste that needs to be disposed of. However, many of the gloves that are used and thrown away are not contaminated and could easily be recycled. Take note of the items that are thrown away on a daily basis that could be disposed of in a more sustainable way.    REUZE Waste After taking inventory of your waste, you can determine if this waste can be REUZEd. Are there boxes laying around that could be repurposed for packing and shipping? Is there equipment that is no longer being used that could be donated? Can you hold on to freezer packs for shipping temperature-sensitive items? REUZE-ing waste is all part of prolonging the life cycle of an item and contributing to a circular economy.   Recycle Waste Having recycling bins in a lab is the easiest way to encourage recycling waste products. Place them outside the lab with recycling posters that guide lab personnel on best practices. Items in the lab that can be recycled include uncontaminated materials such as gloves, packaging, glass, and plastics. You can also use resources like Kimberly Clark, Terracycle, and Medline which offer glove recycling programs. Corning also offers flexible package recycling programs.    Reduce Waste Reduce waste in the lab by only ordering and using exactly what you need. Talk to your colleagues to figure out what is the best way to go about reducing waste in the lab. Perhaps consolidating packaging by having shipments arrive later once they’re able to fill cargo more efficiently. To help you identify products that will cut down on waste, check out the My Green Lab ACT label database!    Decontaminate Waste Many plastics cannot be recycled unless they’ve been decontaminated. Having a process for decontamination can help more items get recycled. This process can be lengthy, costly, or time-consuming. For this reason, it’s important to do some research on exactly what is needed to maintain this operation.   REUZEit: The All-in-One Solution for Used and Surplus Lab Equipment Investing in laboratory equipment for your scientific research is a necessary cost, and we’re committed to providing you with options that you can fit into your budget. Money saved on one product can be used to finance another resource that is just as important to your progress. Whether you’re searching for innovative chemistry lab equipment or looking to replace broken lab equipment, REUZEit offers low-cost solutions that work as hard as you do. Browse the best surplus and gently used biotech and pharmaceutical equipment on the market! Check out our USA-based store or our European-based store to shop discount laboratory equipment.  

Hello again, it’s Ryan Andrews. I am REUZEit’s Chief Innovation Officer and have been an integral part of the company’s overall development. Over the past 10+ years, our vision of creating a circular economy through Surplus Asset Management as a service has propelled the company to what it is today. In this blog, I’ll be discussing REUZEit’s Last Life Program.    Our “Landfill Last” Policy Here at REUZEit, one of our core values that guides our every initiative is our “Landfill Last” policy. We believe in sustainability through creative solutions to extend the life of any surplus asset. The millions of pounds of landfill avoidance that our program helps produce each year is a direct result of applying our landfill last values.  We strive to find every opportunity for life extension of surplus or unwanted assets by assessing useful life possibilities. Think of the saying, “One person’s trash is another’s treasure”.  This is the basis for a circular approach to lab supplies. Our Mission for Used Lab Equipment Our mission is to bring an asset through a lifecycle as many times as possible. The impact of finding a REUZE opportunity is exponential each time a piece of equipment goes back into use. There is a trickle-down effect in a circular economy which enables companies to reach true sustainability, reducing landfill, procurement savings, capital recovery, carbon offsets, less strain on natural resources for remanufacturing, and much more.  While we strive to exhaust every opportunity to bring an asset back into useful life, there is a final point at which an asset truly can not be reintroduced into a useful life.  At least not for its originally intended use!  Commitment to Sustainability We sit up late at night thinking of ways to continue to improve sustainability around surplus equipment. We understand this is probably less entertaining than most people’s late-night activities. We can’t help it; we are nerds for creating solutions to pain points. We saw an opportunity to establish at least one more life cycle. We give one Last Life:  assigning surplus lab equipment that is broken, outdated, malfunctioning, or parted out, to our Last Life Program.    REUZEit’s Last Life Program Our Last Life Program consists of all of these qualifying assets that are one step from the graveyard. These assets are uploaded to a section of our platform called “Last Life”, where we market to movie/tv studios, upcycling artists and organizations, museums, and more. They go places where used lab equipment no longer needs to perform, but can still be useful in other applications —all at a low or free acquisition cost.  REUZEit’s Last Life program is a great way to immortalize an asset, creating new opportunities beyond recycling or sending it to the landfill. Remember, every time we can find a useful application for a surplus asset, we are contributing to the circular economy and towards true sustainability.  REUZEit: The All-in-One Solution for Used and Surplus Lab Equipment Thank you for reading! We hope you have a better understanding of the importance of a ‘REUZE first’ mentality. This approach will lead you to adopt our landfill last values and look for your very own Last Life opportunities. You can apply this approach to your everyday life: find a way to reuse something before rebuy. Each time you do that, you will be contributing to a better world.  If you want to take a serious step in sustainability, reach out to us and find out how REUZEit can help. Browse the best surplus and gently used biotech and pharmaceutical equipment on the market! Check out our USA-based store or our European-based store to shop discount laboratory equipment.