VWR International, LLC Provides Sustainable Solution and Expands Recycling Program

RADNOR, Pa., July 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- VWR International, LLC, a global solutions provider of laboratory supplies, equipment and services, announced today that its pipet tip box recycling program, "From the Lab Bench to the Park Bench," hit a major milestone.   After seven months of collection, this program has received almost 7,000 lbs of tip boxes from VWR customers, the equivalent of 40,000 tip boxes kept out of landfills.

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Prior to this program, a number of VWR customers were looking for a solution that would allow them to dispose of used products in an environmentally responsible way. Pipet tip boxes are commonly found in research labs and often thrown in the trash because they can be difficult to recycle.  This creates a significant waste stream going to landfills.  VWR realized it had an opportunity to identify an innovative solution to support its customers' needs.  As a result, VWR contracted award-winning TerraCycle®, an upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products.  Together with TerraCycle®, VWR created the recycling program "From the Lab Bench to the Park Bench," which collects plastic pipet tip boxes from VWR's customers, pelletizes the plastic waste, and converts it into park benches along with other eco-friendly products.

To date, VWR has more than 80 customers participating in this program with over 1,400 boxes at customer sites.  "In addition to collecting 40,000 tip boxes, VWR is excited to announce that it hit another milestone and has launched this program in Canada this month," shared Mark McLoughlin, SVP and President, U.S. Lab Business. "Not only do we hope to grow this program, but we also hope to implement additional environmentally friendly programs to provide the solutions our customers need to enable science."

About VWR International, LLC

VWR International, LLC, headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, is a global provider of laboratory supplies, equipment and services with worldwide sales in excess of $4.1 billion in 2012. VWR enables the advancement of the world's most critical research by providing product and service solutions to laboratories and production facilities in the pharmaceutical, biotech, industrial, educational, governmental and healthcare industries. With over 160 years of industry experience, VWR offers a well-established network that reaches thousands of specialized labs and facilities spanning the globe. VWR has over 8,000 associates around the world working to streamline the way scientists, researchers, medical professionals and engineers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific stock and maintain their facilities. In addition, VWR further supports its customers by providing onsite services, storeroom management, product procurement, supply chain systems integration and technical services.

For more information on VWR, phone 1-800-932-5000, visit www.vwr.com, or write, VWR, Radnor Corporate Center, Building One, Suite 200, 100 Matsonford Road, Radnor, PA 19087.

VWR and design are registered trademarks of VWR International, LLC.

SOURCE VWR International, LLC