Laboratory Waste Disposal Guide

For Use in Departments outside the College of Veterinary Medicine

If you are in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Consult its specific laboratory waste guide.

You can find it in our website :www.ehs.cornell.edu

Introduction

This visual guide is to aid in the selection of the appropriate waste disposal routefor items commonly disposed of in the classical biological research laboratory, aswell as unconventional laboratory settings such as greenhouses and engineeringlaboratories utilizing biological materials as part of their research.

Please be aware that there are many online resources you can access byvisiting www.ehs.cornell.edu. Some of these resources include:

EHS Biological Safety Manual

EHS Radiation Safety Manual

EHS Hazardous Waste Manual

If you have any questions, please contact EHS askEHS@cornell.edu or 255-8200.

• Biohazard: Contains or potentially contaminated with human infectiousagents, viral vectors used with human and animal cell culture, biologically-derived toxins, human blood and body fluids, all human and animal cellcultures, or fluids and tissues from infected animals.

• r/s Nucleic Acid: Recombinant or synthetic nucleic acids or geneticallymodified micro/organisms (e.g., bacteria, plants, insects, animals). If alsoinfectious, dispose of as Biohazard.

• Other Biological: Not infectious to healthy adult humans or animals, andnon-r/sNA. Contains or potentially contaminated with environmentalmicroorganisms, plant and insect pathogens, or plant tissue cultures. Ifcontaminated with chemical residue, follow the Chemical guideline.

Definitions of contaminants

Definitions of contaminants• Chemical: Disposable items contaminated with residual amounts of

non-acutely toxic chemicals only (e.g., phenol, chloroform, acrylamide,xylene). For acutely toxic waste items, including the original containerfrom manufacturer, consult the Hazardous Waste Manual, or ask EHS.Please note that Ethidium bromide-contaminated waste must bedeactivated or collected as chemical waste by EHS.

• Chemotherapeutic: Disposable items contaminated with residualamounts of substances used to imitate a biochemical response in tissueculture or in animals and includes: antineoplastic agents (e.g., cisplatin,doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide); hormones or hormone-like drugs (e.g.,estrogens, tamoxifen); synthetic analogs and other carcinogens (e.g.,BrdU).

RegulatedMedicalWaste bin

Regulated Sharps:

Syringes with needles *NeedlesScalpel bladesGlass blood vials Glass Pasteur pipettes

* For your safety, do not recap norremove needles from syringes unnecessarily

ChemotherapeuticBiohazard Other Biological Chemicalr/s Nucleic Acid

Serological pipettesMicropipette tipsSwabs, sticks Glass slides, cover slipsGlass vials with agar slants Broken or intact glasswareBroken plasticware Razor bladesSyringes without needles

Biohazard

Autoclave

r/s Nucleic Acid Other Biological

Rigid container

Regular Trash

Chemical

into RMW bin

Chemotherapeutic

Other Sharps 1 :

Disposable Non-Sharps:

Intact plasticwarePlastic petri dishes with agarGlovesDisposable gownsBench paper and towelsAnimal bedding

Chemotherapeutic

Autoclave

Other Biological Chemicalr/s Nucleic Acid Chemical

into RMW bin

TRASH

Biohazard

Liquid Waste:

Liquid media and cultures aspirated or decanted from flasks and dishes

Body fluids

Solutions of biological toxins must be inactivated 3

Biohazard r/s Nucleic Acid

Autoclave or

Treat with disinfectant(e.g., 1:10 dilution with household bleach)

Other Biological

Consult hazardous waste manualor

Contact EHS

Chemotherapeutic

Then dispose in drainwith large volume of water

Chemical

Biohazard

Autoclave

Other BiologicalChemotherapeutic

Plant Materials:

Plants SeedsPlant culturesUsed potting media

Compostor

r/s Nucleic Acids Chemical

TRASH

into RMW bin

Consulthazardous waste manual

orContact EHS

Chemotherapeutic

Clear bag into RMW bin

r/s Nucleic Acid Other Biological Chemical

or designated carcass bin

RegulatedMedicalWaste bin

Biohazard

Consulthazardous waste manual

orContact EHS

Carcasses and Tissues:

Animal carcasses 2

Animal and human tissues

For human cadaver and body parts contact EHS

(Paraffin blocks with fixed tissue can godirectly to trash)

Mixed Wastes:

Hazardous chemicals mixed with biohazardsRadioisotopes mixed with biohazards

Consult appropriate waste manualor contact EHS

before generating such wastes!

1. Non-glass biohazard items that can puncture bags (e.g., plastic pipettes, micropipette tips, swabs, andsticks) may be placed in a puncture resistant container (e.g., cardboard box lined with biohazard plasticbag, biohazard labeled rigid plastic container) or manufactured “burn-up bin” and then finally packagedin a red biohazard bag for waste pick up:

Footnotes:

Serological pipettes can puncture bags when randomly mixed with other disposed items in plasticbiohazard bags. Bundle the serological pipettes into a plastic sleeve conveniently placed inside thebiohazard bag, which organizes them and prevents them from puncturing the outer red biohazard bag:

No! Yes!Randomly discardedpipettes

Bundled togetherpipettes

2. Separate carcasses and tissues from other disposable items (e.g., plastic and paper) whenever possible.Decant liquid away from carcasses, and dispose of the liquid appropriately (e.g., formalin and ethanol aschemical waste through EHS, buffer solutions as biohazard liquid waste). Coordinate with animal facilitymanager, especially with large animal carcasses:

Carcass

Liquid Waste

Bag for disposal

Dispose appropriately

3. Toxin Inactivation - below are commonly used inactivation procedures, though they may not be suitablefor your particular toxin. Consult the product information sheet for your biological toxin for specificinstructions on inactivation:• Autoclave, if heat labile (steam at ≥121C for 1 hour, up to 1 liter volume), or• Treat with NaOCl (sodium hypochlorite) at 1 – 2.5% (w/v) for 30 minutes (commercially available

bleach solutions typically contain 3 – 6% (w/v) NaOCl, or• Treat with NaOH (sodium hydroxide) at 1N for 30 minutes, or• Treat with a combination of 0.25% NaOCl and 0.25N NaOH for 30 minutes, or• Treat with another recognized inactivating solution.

Dispose of the inactivated toxin solution down the drain with a large volume of water. You mustneutralize solutions with a pH outside the range 5.5 to 9.5 before disposal. Lastly, you can dispose ofactive biological toxins as chemical waste through EHS. Any further questions, contact EHS.

Questions

If there are any question, please contact:Environmental Health & Safety

(607) 255-8200or

Ask EHS at askEHS@cornell.edu