Laboratory and Research Waste Overview
Hazardous laboratory and field research wastes at the Prince George campus are brought to Chemstores for disposal. The wastes are processed and safely stored for transfer to an appropriate waste contractor. The laboratory and field research waste handling procedures are provided in the UNBC Chemical Safety & Methodology Manual.
Guidelines for wastes to be accepted by Chemstores:
- Broken glass must be in puncture proof containers or cardboard glass waste boxes
- Needles must be in dedicated sharps containers
- All chemical wastes must be labelled
- Liquid chemical wastes must have an appropriate liquid waste tag
- Liquid chemical wastes must be in a sealed container with sufficient head space for expansion (generally 3")
- Wastes cannot be left unattended outside of Chemstores
- Biohazardous materials must be placed in biohazardous waste bag or pail
- Empty hazardous waste containers must be labelled empty
Waste Storage and Disposal Materials
A variety of waste storage materials are available for free from Chemstores
- Sharps containers
- Autoclaveable waste bags
- Yellow hazardous waste bags with ziptie closures
- 4L amber glass bottles for liquid wastes
- 4 litre and 20 litre pails with lids
- 20L biohazardous materials pails (red and yellow biomedical)
Laboratory Waste Reduction Activities and Green Project
Strategic waste handling and experiment planning can reduce laboratory waste, and number of hazardous wastes can be neutralized to a non-hazardous state.
The Dispensing Chemist and Margot Mandy from the Chemistry Program partnered in 2012 for a Green Project: Reducing Laboratory Waste from Teaching and Research Activities. The first phase of the project has completed, which has resulted in several recommendations at the lab-level for re-direction or reduction of several hazardous wastes, which have both environmental and economic benefits.
