The Waste Management Program manages a variety of environmental issues in compliance with federal, state and local hazardous material regulations.
These include chemical inventory program, liaison for the County CUPA program, hazardous materials management, chemical waste management, and medical waste management.
Please use the chart below as a quick, general guideline for waste disposal.
Please see these pages for additional information:
HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL WASTE
Federal and state regulations define hazardous waste as any liquid, solid, semi-solid, or gaseous material that is intended to be discarded and meets any of the following characteristics:
Ignitable: generally are liquids with a flashpoint below 60°C (140°F).
Corrosive: generally aqueous wastes with a pH of 2 or less or 12.5 or greater.
Reactive: are wastes that are unstable, explosive, and capable of detonation or react violently with water.
Toxic: a chemical that poses a hazard to health or the environment
How long can hazardous chemical waste be stored?
Hazardous waste must be transferred to EH&S for disposal within 180 days of being generated.
Acutely Hazardous Waste and Extremely Hazardous Waste must be transferred off site.
Do not overfill containers. Containers with liquid waste should be no more than 90% full.
What are the labeling and container requirements for hazardous chemical waste?
Hazardous waste must always be appropriately labeled.
Choose a container that is compatible with the type and amount of waste generated.
Containers must have secondary containment to adequately contain all contents of the container/spilled materials.
Separate incompatible materials.
Containers should always be closed when not in use.
Store liquids in screw-capped containers that will not leak if tipped over.
Report damaged containers to Site Operations. Site Operations can provide assistance with transferring the contents of the damaged container to an appropriate container.
Containers must be inspected weekly for signs of leaks, corrosion, or deterioration. Please keep container exteriors free from contamination.
What are the storage requirements for hazardous chemical wastes?
Mark storage areas according to the type of chemicals kept there (e.g. "corrosive," "flammable," etc.).
Storage of hazardous waste in fume hoods or under sinks is not recommended.
Select a hazardous waste accumulation area that is out of the way of normal activities but easily identifiable and safely accessible for staff members.
Keep storage areas clean, appropriately ventilated, and at a consistently cool temperature.
Do not dispose of hazardous chemicals via sinks or trash cans.
Do not use hoods to intentionally evaporate hazardous chemicals.
Hazardous Chemical Waste Guidelines
BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE
Sharps waste includes needles, syringes, broken glass, glass slides, cover slips, razors, scalpels, knives, pasteur pipettes, or any other object with a sharp edge.
Dispose of sharps in a rigid, puncture resistant sharps container.
Sharps containers must be labeled with a biohazard label and have a lid that can be securely shut. To prevent injury, NEVER fill sharps containers past the fill line.
When the fill line on a sharps container is reached close the container and do not add any more waste.
Liquid biohazardous waste includes Risk Group 2 contaminated cell culture media and solutions, blood and bodily fluids containing blood.
Use a bleach mixture (final concentration of 1:10) for a minimum of 30 minutes to decontaminate biohazardous liquid. Once the liquid has been decontaminated it can be poured down the drain.
Liquid biohazardous waste containing hazardous chemicals should be disposed of as a chemical waste and never treated with bleach. Adding bleach to hazardous chemicals can cause an adverse reaction.
Solid biohazardous waste includes Risk Group 2 contaminated materials such as gloves, cell culture plates, paper products, pipettes, cell culture plates and any other solid material contaminated with infectious agents. In addition it includes Risk Group 1 contaminated material from Recombinant DNA procedures. All solid medical waste treated offsite for disposal. Laboratories are not allowed to autoclave or treat medical waste themselves.
Dispose of solid biohazardous waste materials in RED biohazard bags marked with the international biohazard symbol.
Red bags containing medical waste must be stored in hard-sided containers with securable lids. The containers must be labeled with the international biohazard symbol on all sides.
Ensure the container is kept closed when not adding waste and not overfilled.
Biohazardous Waste Guidelines