How much can we bench press? About 850+ if we’re talking about how many upcycled park benches Johnson & Johnson has helped to create since 2012. The benches are made from plastic boxes that house pipette tips, which are syringe-like tools used to draw and dispense fluids in laboratory testing. These boxes (shown above) are usually considered biopharma waste because they’re constructed from tough number 5 plastic, which isn’t accepted at most recycling facilities. But through its partnership with lab material supplier VWR and TerraCycle, which upcycles the used containers, over 164,000 boxes from participating Johnson & Johnson labs across the U.S. were recycled into more than 200 park benches in 2017 alone that were then distributed to underserved communities and schools.

Pharmaceutical waste recycling can be a challenge. As sustainability becomes more rooted in the supply chain, suppliers and customers have opportunities to align with one another. VWR, an independent provider of products, services and solutions to laboratory and production facilities, did just that, aligning with its supplier Janssen R&D, LLC.