How Pulpfixin Is Turning Paper Into High-performance Sustainable Labware

Sponsored Content by PulpFixinApr 24 2026

Could you stock a spot astir nan communicative down PulpFixin, and nan inspiration down nan name?

PulpFixin began by seeking alternatives to integrative laboratory wear. We initially explored bioplastics but recovered them costly and not wide available. That led america to mobility why plastics were needed astatine all. 

We began looking for a worldly that was cost-effective, non-toxic, and people biodegradable. Spoiler alert: Paper pulp stood retired arsenic a solution. It is wide available, environmentally friendly, and aligns pinch our extremity of reducing unnecessary integrative use. 

The squad down PulpFixin brings a unsocial perspective, having worked successful nan plastics industry. The president and co-founder spent galore years successful injection molding, while different laminitis is simply a intelligence who regularly relied connected integrative successful laboratory settings. Alongside this, nan squad includes expertise from nan insubstantial industry, which inspired nan displacement toward pulp-based materials. 

With decades of mixed experience, including my ain 30 years successful plastics, we’ve travel afloat circle, utilizing that firsthand knowledge to create much sustainable alternatives grounded successful existent manufacture insight. 

PulpFixin merchandise overview. Image credit: PulpFixin

The plastics manufacture often emphasizes that integrative is recyclable. How does nan reality of integrative recycling comparison to nan cognition that it is simply a sustainable solution? 

In theory, integrative is wholly recyclable. You should beryllium capable to usage it, regrind it, and make different products from that. And location are examples of that moving successfully. But location is simply a important spread betwixt cognition and reality.

While plastics are technically recyclable, successful practice, only astir 10 % are really recycled. This fig tin alteration slightly, but it is consistently low.  

The integrative manufacture often promotes recyclability arsenic a sustainability solution, but nan load is placed connected recycling systems that are not financially aliases logistically effective. Additionally, plastics tin leach harmful chemicals into ecosystems, and materials for illustration polystyrene are some toxic to nutrient and persist successful nan situation for agelong periods. 

If we take a sustainable worldly from nan beginning, we don't person to interest astir it astatine nan extremity of life.

How do recycling rates comparison betwixt plastics and paper-based materials?

Cardboard and insubstantial are wide recycled. Around 70-75 % of cardboard and insubstantial is successfully recycled, and entree to recycling is widespread, peculiarly successful regions for illustration nan United States and Europe. 

This is mostly because location is an established, profitable marketplace for recycled insubstantial pulp, but not nan aforesaid for utilized plastics. Plastic recycling often struggles financially, starring to closures of recycling accommodation successful immoderate regions. 

What are nan biggest barriers preventing effective integrative recycling?

The biggest situation is economical viability. While plastics tin theoretically beryllium recycled, nan costs of collecting, sorting, and processing them is often excessively high.

Part of that is separating nan plastics. When we propulsion each our polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene into nan aforesaid container, they person different life cycles. They request to beryllium sorted retired and utilized appropriately, but that sorting isn't happening successful advance.

Another awesome rumor is contamination and mixing. Different types of plastics require different recycling processes, but they are often mixed successful discarded streams. This creates dirty, mixed materials that are difficult to reuse effectively. 

There are programs wherever you tin salary to recycle, but they tin beryllium expensive, particularly if you're not successful a region that supports that. Transportation costs adhd to nan problem, particularly erstwhile materials must beryllium shipped agelong distances for processing.

Image credit: studiocho/Shutterstock.com

From a lifecycle perspective, really do fiber-based materials comparison to accepted plastics?

Fiber-based materials, specified arsenic insubstantial pulp, connection clear advantages. They tin beryllium produced locally successful galore regions, reducing proscription emissions and costs. In contrast, plastics are often manufactured successful 1 portion of nan world and shipped globally. Asia is simply a ample integrative manufacturer, but nan integrative is shipped to nan United States and Europe.

Additionally, fiber-based materials merge much easy into existing recycling and composting systems. By choosing sustainable materials from nan outset, we tin debar nan request to negociate analyzable end-of-life issues associated pinch plastics. 

What challenges person you faced erstwhile introducing paper-based alternatives into laboratory environments?

The main situation has been changing perceptions. Traditionally, insubstantial and cardboard are considered unsuitable for laboratories owed to concerns astir cleanliness and contamination.

However, our products are not modular cardboard. They are sealed, engineered paper-based materials designed to destruct areas wherever contaminants tin accumulate. To reside these concerns, we’ve focused heavy connected real-world validation alternatively than theoretical claims.

We trial our products straight connected nan instrumentality they are intended for. For example, our pipette extremity racks, which we are presently launching, person been tally connected automated liquid handlers to show afloat compatibility. That’s been incredibly compelling because we are not saying it could work; we are proving that it does.

The aforesaid applies to our cryogenic racks. We’ve tested them successful utmost conditions, including at-80°C, successful liquid nitrogen, and successful dry-ice environments. They clasp up exceptionally well, pinch extended information showing durability crossed aggregate freeze-thaw cycles.

In addition, our products tin beryllium afloat sterilized utilizing E-beam aliases gamma irradiation, ensuring they meet laboratory cleanliness requirements. We actively discourage ethylene oxide sterilization owed to its toxic and carcinogenic nature, and alternatively support cleaner, safer sterilization methods. All of this information has been captious successful helping displacement nan mindset and build assurance successful paper-based alternatives.

How does your characteristic movie exertion comparison to integrative successful position of performance? 

Feature movie allows paper-based materials to execute likewise to integrative crossed a wide scope of applications while maintaining a importantly little biology impact. It performs peculiarly good successful acold retention and cryogenic environments, maintaining integrity done repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

A cardinal facet down this capacity is our design. The building of our products is engineered to support nan devices, tubes, and tips they hold, ensuring they are beardown capable to switch accepted integrative formats. In fact, immoderate of our racks are stronger than comparable integrative designs. For example, our pipette extremity racks tin withstand up to 11 kilograms of unit per tip. Across a afloat 96-tip rack, that equates to astir 1,000 kilograms of full force, which is much than capable for some automated and manual workflows.

We besides spell beyond modular worldly testing by validating capacity nether real-world conditions. Our racks person been utilized successful automated systems, and we person conducted extended durability testing successful cryogenic environments, including liquid nitrogen and ultra-low-temperature storage. The worldly performs consistently, moreover aft repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

In position of chemic resistance, we person tested vulnerability to 100 % ethanol, 70 % IPA, and communal laboratory buffers, demonstrating beardown guidance and durability. While nan worldly is not afloat waterproof, it provides fantabulous moisture resistance, making it perfect for acold storage, transport, and controlled laboratory environments.

Finally, our products tin beryllium sterilized utilizing E-beam aliases gamma irradiation, ensuring they are cleanable and fresh for laboratory usage without relying connected much harmful sterilization methods. This operation of strength, real-world validation, and compatibility makes Feature movie a highly reliable replacement to plastic.

How do your materials execute successful acold concatenation logistics compared to accepted solutions for illustration polystyrene? 

Our characteristic foam has been specifically engineered to lucifer and moreover transcend nan capacity of accepted polystyrene (EPS) successful acold concatenation applications. Structurally, it useful successful a very akin measurement by creating microcells, aliases mini aerial pockets, wrong nan material. These aerial pockets enactment arsenic an effective thermal barrier, limiting power transportation and maintaining unchangeable soul temperatures.

What sets our solution isolated is that we execute this level of capacity utilizing afloat sustainable, plastic-free materials. We incorporated a proprietary additive into nan pulp-based building to heighten strength, durability, and moisture resistance, ensuring nan worldly holds up moreover erstwhile exposed to ice, barren ice, and condensation during transport. In addition, we use our characteristic movie sealant to nan outer corrugate, further protecting against moisture and strengthening nan packaging, a measurement not commonly taken successful modular cardboard acold shippers.

To validate performance, we person conducted some in-house testing and independent third-party testing done an ISTA-certified laboratory. These side-by-side comparisons pinch accepted Styrofoam solutions show that our characteristic foam tin reliably present 48+ hours of thermal protection, and successful optimized conditions, up to 92 hours. This is achieved by cautiously matching nan payload pinch nan due cooling medium, conscionable arsenic you would pinch EPS systems.

Overall, nan information shows that our solution is not only a like-for-like replacement successful position of thermal performance, but successful galore cases a superior one, offering nan aforesaid insulation capacity while importantly improving sustainability and reducing biology impact.

PulpFixin acold concatenation systems. Image credit: PulpFixin

What applicable steps tin organizations return to amended sustainability today? 

There are respective applicable steps organizations tin return instantly to amended sustainability. First and foremost, reducing integrative usage is key. Simply questioning whether integrative is genuinely basal successful each exertion tin uncover opportunities to move to much sustainable alternatives that are already available.

Reuse is different important strategy. Technologies specified arsenic pipette extremity washing systems let laboratories to widen nan life of existing integrative materials, reducing wide consumption. Recycling should besides proceed to beryllium supported, moreover wherever it involves further cost. There are master companies that tin grip plastics responsibly, and investing successful section recycling infrastructure wherever imaginable tin make a meaningful difference.

Composting is different underutilized solution. It is wide accessible and offers a elemental measurement to return materials to nan world responsibly, yet it is often overlooked. Increasing take successful this area could person a important biology impact.

Beyond materials, location is besides a broader request to trim reliance connected fossil fuels. Alternatives specified arsenic hydrogen and electrical powerfulness are already available, but require further finance to go much accessible and cost-effective. Given nan world challenges associated pinch lipid dependency, it is progressively important for organizations to enactment locally while reasoning globally, making sustainable choices wherever possible.

What does nan early look for illustration for PulpFixin and sustainable labware? 

One of nan cardinal developments is accrued collaboration pinch established plastics manufacturers. While we whitethorn not yet switch each integrative component, we are already moving pinch these companies to merge their tubes and pipette tips into our sustainable racks. This allows laboratories to instantly trim unnecessary integrative without disrupting existing workflows.

At nan aforesaid time, we are investing heavy successful invention to push nan boundaries of what paper-based materials tin achieve. A awesome attraction for america is nan improvement of afloat waterproof, fiber-based materials. This would unlock nan expertise to switch superior consumables specified arsenic tubes, vials, and pipette tips, representing a important step-change for sustainability successful laboratories.

We are besides contributing to nan conception of nan “lab of nan future,” wherever sustainability and digitalization spell manus successful hand. This includes integrating technologies specified arsenic RFID, 2D barcoding, and microtransponders to amended traceability crossed nan lifecycle of laboratory products. By doing this, we tin thief laboratories amended understand wherever materials travel from, really they are used, and really they tin beryllium disposed of responsibly.

In parallel, we are expanding our world footprint. We already person distribution partners crossed nan UK, Europe, and Japan, and we are actively processing partnerships successful Asia and Africa. This world description is cardinal to making sustainable laboratory solutions accessible astatine scale.

Where tin readers find much information?

• PulpFixin

About Chad Jenkins

Chad Jenkins is simply a sustainability-focused master pinch complete 3 decades of acquisition successful nan plastics industry. Throughout his career, he has worked extensively successful supplying and commercializing integrative products crossed a scope of markets, gaining heavy penetration into nan benefits and biology challenges of integrative materials.

Driven by a individual committedness to biology stewardship and a passion for nan outdoors, Jenkins transitioned his attraction toward sustainable innovation. At PulpFixin, he plays a cardinal domiciled successful advancing paper-based alternatives to accepted integrative labware, helping trim reliance connected single-use plastics successful nan life sciences sector.

His expertise spans materials, proviso chains, and merchandise development, enabling him to span nan spread betwixt accepted manufacturing practices and emerging sustainable technologies. Jenkins is peculiarly willing successful scalable solutions that harvester capacity pinch biology responsibility, including recyclable and compostable materials.

Through his work, he advocates for practical, contiguous changes that organizations tin adopt to trim their biology impact, while besides contributing to nan semipermanent translator of laboratory and business practices toward sustainability.