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5R Framework (lab sustainability)

A hierarchical decision framework applied to laboratory consumables and waste: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle, considered in that order of preference.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

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Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A lab applies the 5R framework when reviewing a new product request and rejects the order in favour of borrowing from a neighbour.
Is an instance
A consortium publishes a 5R decision flowchart on a laminated card for each bench.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
Defaulting to recycle without considering refuse or reduce inverts the hierarchy.
Not an instance
A purchasing policy that emphasises only end-of-life recyclability misses the framework.

Editorial commentary

The 5R framework adapts classical waste-hierarchy thinking to research lab contexts. Refuse confronts the choice not to acquire a product in the first place (e.g., do not order a new pipette set if one is shared next door). Reduce trims quantities (e.g., right-sized tip boxes). Reuse keeps an item in service across multiple cycles, sometimes with sterilisation. Repurpose finds a new use for an item past its primary life. Recycle, the least preferred, processes the material at end of life. Many green-lab assessments score labs against explicit 5R criteria.

References

LabConscious 5R guidance; My Green Lab Waste module.

Also known as

Five Rs · 5Rs of lab sustainability · Waste hierarchy (lab)

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

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Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

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Referenced across the research world

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