Medical & Pharmaceuticals recycling
How to Recycle Laboratory Glassware
Beakers, flasks, test tubes, and other borosilicate or soda-lime laboratory glassware. Borosilicate's different chemistry is the main reason this often isn't accepted alongside container glass.
Check local acceptanceMinimal for recycling; donation value to a school program is often the better outcome for functional piecesLast reviewed July 30, 2026
Quick answer
Clean, chemical-free lab glassware isn't necessarily curbside-recyclable, even though it looks like ordinary glass. Most lab glass is borosilicate, which has a different melting point than the soda-lime glass curbside programs are built for, so check before assuming it belongs with bottle glass. Donating clean glassware to a school or lab is often a better outcome than trashing it, and anything with chemical residue needs hazardous-waste handling, not recycling.
- Recycling route
- Check locally
- Typical value
- Minimal for recycling; donation value to a school program is often the better outcome for functional pieces
How to Prepare
- 1Triple-rinse glassware that had chemicals in it, following your lab's decontamination protocol
- 2Confirm there's no visible residue or staining before considering it for reuse or recycling