What Polycarbin does

Polycarbin is a privately held, venture-backed circular-economy services company founded in 2020 by two physician-scientist co-founders (James O'Brien and Noah Pyles) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The company operates a closed-loop platform that collects single-use laboratory plastics — pipette tip boxes, rigid plastics, nitrile gloves, and PPE — via mailback services (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta Carbins), high-volume onsite services (CORE), and regulated medical waste management (COREplus), then remanufactures the collected material into a Closed-Loop Collection of low-carbon lab consumables (pipette tips, microcentrifuge tubes, conical tubes) containing 20-92% recycled resin. Verified sustainability outcomes are reported through the Carbin Counter dashboard, which uses ISO 14040/14044-compliant Life Cycle Assessment methodology and supports Scope 3 emissions and ESG disclosure. The business has two U.S. headquarters (Richmond, CA and Hanover, MA) plus aggregation hubs in Southern California, Mid-Atlantic, and North Carolina.

Revenue is generated across four streams: recurring per-container subscriptions for COREplus regulated medical waste (with bundled Carbin Counter reporting and right-streaming), transaction-based sales of Closed-Loop Collection consumables distributed through direct e-commerce and the VWR (Avantor) and Thermo Fisher Scientific catalogs, subscription-style mailback service fees for the four Carbin programs, and bespoke managed-service contracts for CORE and expired-goods engagements. Pricing is quote-based, with stated customer outcomes of 35% red-bag waste reduction, $5K+ monthly waste-cost savings, and a 40% carbon impact reduction across waste streams.

The customer base spans large-cap biotech and pharma (Roche, Biogen, Genentech, Twist Biosciences, Beam Therapeutics, Cell Signaling Technologies, JSR Corporation), research institutes (NIH, Broad Institute, Institute for Systems Biology), and academic medical centers (UCSF, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, University of Pittsburgh, Cornell Medical, UMass). Polycarbin is distributed through direct enterprise sales, inside sales for mailback onboarding, channel partnerships with VWR and Thermo Fisher, and direct e-commerce; geographic coverage includes the contiguous United States for mailback services, with products sold into Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. The company has raised approximately $6.23M in disclosed funding across a 2022 seed round (Ringbolt Capital, VoLo Earth Ventures) and a 2023 round of $4.22M, with a headcount range of 11-50.

Name

Polycarbin

Legal name

Polycarbin

Website

https://polycarbin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Polycarbin is a privately held circular-economy platform that collects and remanufactures single-use laboratory plastics into low-carbon consumables, serving biotech, pharma, academic, and government research labs via mailback services, regulated medical waste management, and sustainability reporting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Plastic Recycling and Waste Management

NAICS

Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing (325211), Plastics Product Manufacturing (3261), All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing (326199)

SIC

Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers (2821), Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycled & Reprocessed Polymer Resin Manufacturing (rPET, rPP, rPE; PCR/PIR resins) (IMANAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Post-Industrial Plastics Scrap Recovery & Regrind (IMANAMAB), Reprocessed Resin & Recycled Polymer Compounding (PCR/PIR Compounds) (IMANAMAG), Plastic Recycling Equipment & Technology Providers (Sorting, Washing, Extrusion) (EUAIAKAM)

Keywords

• Lab plastic recycling
• Regulated medical waste
• Circular economy services
• Sustainable lab consumables
• Carbon emissions tracking

Headquarters

HQ city

El Sobrante

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. COREplus Regulated Medical Waste Management: Per-container pricing for regulated medical waste management services including pickup, transport, treatment, and documentation. Revenue is generated through waste management fees with goal of reducing client costs over time through right-streaming and waste reduction. Includes bundled recycling services and Carbin Counter reporting.
2. Lab Consumables Sales: Sale of remanufactured lab consumables (pipette tips, microcentrifuge tubes, conical tubes, etc.) made with 20-92% circular economy resin. Products sold through direct e-commerce, VWR, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Revenue from product sales with price-competitive positioning vs virgin plastic alternatives.
3. Mailback Recycling Services (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta Carbins): Mailback recycling service fees for pipette tip boxes (Alpha), rigid plastics (Beta), nitrile gloves (Gamma), and PPE (Delta). Services include prepaid shipping labels, collection containers, and Carbin Counter tracking dashboard access.
4. CORE Custom Onsite Services: Custom service contracts for high-throughput organizations including hardware installation, training, transportation, and data management. Bespoke service agreements with volume-based pricing.
5. Expired Goods Recycling: One-time or recurring pickup service for expired consumables with pallet minimum requirements. Logistics coordination and disassembly services for processing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Polycarbin operates a closed-loop circular economy platform for scientific plastics, collecting single-use lab plastics, nitrile gloves, PPE, and regulated medical waste through mailback and onsite services, then remanufacturing the materials into low-carbon lab consumables made from 20-92% recycled content. The offering includes the Carbin Counter sustainability dashboard, which delivers ISO 14040/14044 compliant Scope 3 emissions and ESG reporting. Customers include biotech, pharmaceutical, academic research, and government laboratories across North America.

Product overview

Polycarbin offers a comprehensive circular economy platform for laboratory plastics consisting of multiple recycling mailback services (Alpha Carbin for pipette tip boxes, Beta Carbin for rigid plastics, Gamma Carbin for nitrile gloves, Delta Carbin for PPE), enterprise CORE custom onsite services, COREplus regulated medical waste management, expired goods recycling, and the Carbin Counter sustainability tracking software. The Closed-Loop Collection provides low-carbon lab consumables manufactured with 20-92% recycled content that close the loop by turning collected plastics back into new lab products. The platform is built around evidence-based sustainability tracking using ISO-compliant LCAs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carbin Counter: ISO-compliant sustainability dashboard for tracking climate impact and environmental metrics
• Alpha Carbin
• Beta Carbin
• Gamma Carbin
• Delta Carbin
• CORE
• COREplus

Products and services

• Alpha Carbin Mailback recycling service for pipette tip boxes from any vendor, allowing labs to divert empty tip boxes from landfills into the circular economy. Each 5-pack receptacle holds approximately 100 tip boxes with 18-gallon volume. Available throughout the contiguous US, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
• Beta Carbin Mailback service for non-hazardous rigid lab plastics from any vendor. Two-bin system (Clear and Color sorting) achieves an 85% recovery rate, circularizing rigid plastics into next-generation low-carbon lab products.
• Gamma Carbin Mailback service for nitrile gloves diverting gloves from landfills and incinerators. A 5-pack of Carbins can hold over 6,000 pairs of gloves with 16-gallon volume and 40-pound maximum weight. Processed nitrile butadiene rubber is repurposed into consumer goods.
• Delta Carbin Mailback service for lab PPE including gowns, hairnets, sleeves, and booties. Prepaid return labels are included and addresses the carbon impact of manufacturing single-use PPE.
• CORE Custom Onsite Services Custom onsite recycling service for high-throughput organizations, providing hardware installation, staff training, transportation, and data management under bespoke service agreements with volume-based pricing.
• COREplus Regulated Medical Waste Comprehensive regulated medical waste management service with reduction-first pricing model. Includes waste walk and characterization analysis, proactive audits to identify overclassification, and right-streaming into recycled material streams. Features four transfer facilities for service redundancy and bundling with Carbin Counter reporting.
• Expired Goods Recycling Service for picking up and recycling expired consumables with pallet minimum requirements. Includes logistics coordination and disassembly services for processing expired lab materials into circular streams.
• Carbin Counter ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 compliant sustainability dashboard that translates recycling efforts into key sustainability metrics. Tracks every pound of material diverted from landfills or incinerators and supports Scope 3 emissions reporting and ESG disclosure with third-party verified data.
• Closed-Loop Collection Low-carbon lab consumables product line manufactured with 20-92% circular economy resin by weight. Includes pipette tips, microcentrifuge tubes, and conical tubes made from recycled lab plastics, distributed through direct e-commerce, VWR, and Thermo Fisher Scientific at 10-20% cost savings versus virgin plastic equivalents.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35% average reduction in red-bag waste volume for COREplus clients
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AvantorcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal provider of mission-critical products and services for biopharma, healthcare, education, government, and advanced technology industries. Integrates Polycarbin's Closed-Loop recycling solution into its product offerings to deliver high-quality, eco-friendly solutions.
• Beckman Coulter Life SciencescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLeader in scientific research instrumentation serving academic, pharmaceutical, and clinical research sectors. Incorporates Polycarbin's Closed-Loop recycling solution into product lines to provide sustainable solutions maintaining highest performance and quality standards.
• Labcon North AmericacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFounded in 1959, specializes in designing and producing sustainable disposable labware. Their sustainability approach includes reducing packaging, incorporating recycled plastics, and offering refillable packaging solutions.
• Thermo Fisher ScientificcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal leader in scientific innovation that integrates Polycarbin's Closed-Loop recycling into its lab product offerings, providing researchers with sustainable alternatives without compromising performance or quality.
• INTEGRA BiosciencesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal leader in high-quality laboratory solutions for liquid handling and media preparation with dual headquarters in Switzerland and U.S. Supports labs worldwide through direct operations and distribution partner network.
• Novas BiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerEstablished in 2020 and based in Fremont, California, specializes in providing high-quality PCR consumables for the life sciences industry including PCR plates, sealing films, pipette tips, microcentrifuge tubes, and deep well plates.
• SW Sustainability SolutionscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWoman and minority owned pioneer in hand protection since 1984. Partners with Polycarbin to bring closed-loop recycling into their EcoTek Sustainable Technology nitrile gloves. Only B Corp-certified glove manufacturer with EcoVadis Platinum Medal recipient ranking in top 1% globally for sustainability.
• CytivaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDrives progress in life sciences and partners with Polycarbin for sustainability in lab filtration. Enables closed-loop recycling of Cytiva's filters, integrating collection, reprocessing, and purification so plastic waste is diverted and re-enters the lab ecosystem.
• OpentronsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmpowers automated research and partners with Polycarbin for plastic waste reduction. Opentrons' liquid handling consumables (tips, reservoirs, racks) are collected, reprocessed, and purified into circular resin for new lab products.
• Thomas ScientificminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner mentioned in early press coverage helping Polycarbin create a more sustainable and efficient life science supply chain.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/polycarbin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polycarbin
• Instagraminstagram.com/_polycarbin

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Polycarbin