Disposal Standards
The following summarising some of the key disposal practices in labs. Details of laboratory disposal practices are located on the Waste Disposal section of the safety web pages.
- All dilute water, soluble waste should be flushed down the sink with copious amounts of cold water.
- Solvent waste:
- Three categories of waste solvents are disposed of via Biology Stores. The hierarchy of waste disposal is:
- Halogenated (eg, chloroform/tetrahydrofuran (THF)
- Flammable (eg ether/DMSO)
- Aqueous (water based solutions used as solvent)
- All flammable and halogenated solvents must be collected in 'contained' (plastic coated) ‘Winchester’ (2.5 litre) bottles for disposal via Biology Stores.
- Plastic coated waste collection bottles must be labelled (specific labels available from Biology Stores).
- Plastic coated waste collection bottles must be thoroughly rinsed (to remove residual chemical that could be reactive with collected waste solvent) before use (confirmed by a sticker on the bottle, available from Biology Stores).
- Solvent waste bottle lids must not be tightened (loosen lid during use to avoid possible risk of pressure build up within the bottle).
- Organic solvent waste should be kept to a minimum (if possible try to substitute water miscible solvents) and stored properly in appropriate bottles for disposal via Biology Stores.
Individual (Non-Solvent) Chemical Waste
- The following specific individual hazardous waste chemicals need to be collected separately and disposed of via Biology Stores and Goods Services:
- Concentrated reactive substances eg acids, alkalis, peroxides, oxidising and reducing agents.
- Waste containing 'heavy metals' and 'transition metals'.
- 'PCBs' (polychlorinated biphenyls)
- Mercury spillage (including mercury contaminated tissues/sponges/glass)
- Old/Unwanted stock chemicals in original package.
- Silicon oil
- Acetonitrile, amines, ethanediol, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), phenol.
Note:
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Do not mix reactive substances in one waste container eg concentrated acids, alkalis, peroxides, oxidising and reducing agents
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Use 'contained' (plastic coated) 'Winchester' (2.5 litre) bottles (available from Biology Stores) for disposal via Biology Stores.
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Plastic coated waste collection bottles must be labelled (specific labels available from Biology Stores).
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Plastic coasted waste collection bottles must be thoroughly rinsed (to remove residual chemical that could be reactive with collected waste solvent) before use (confirmed by a sticker on the bottle, available from Biology Stores).
- Put uncontaminated broken glass into the ‘red bin’ provided.
- All samples / materials containing hazardous concentrations of chemicals to disposed of in yellow bins / bags.
- All bio-hazardous materials (liquid or solid) to be inactivated using validated methods (e.g. appropriate disinfectant / autoclave treatment).
- All sharp objects (needles, glass Pasteur pipettes, scalpel blades, etc.) must be placed in special sharps boxes, obtainable from Stores.
- Think about the safety of others. Never put such objects in other waste containers as serious injuries to technicians / cleaning staff can result.