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Hazardous Waste

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  • Labeling Hazardous Waste

    • Hazardous waste containers must be labeled when waste starts accumulating (i.e. as soon as the first drop of waste is put in the container), not when the container becomes full.
    • Label all chemical waste containers with the following information:
      • Accumulation start date.
      • Name, extension, and room number of lab supervisor/PI.
      • List all constituents, including water.
      • Do not use abbreviations or chemical formulas.
      • Estimate the concentration of each constituent.
      • Mark as solid or liquid.
      • Check appropriate physical/health hazards.
      • SDS can help you identify all hazardous properties.
    • Do not combine incompatible waste. 
    • Do not use incompatible containers for waste.
      • Example: Accumulating a mineral acid in a hydrogen peroxide container.

  • How long can I accumulate hazardous waste?

    • The university has 180 days to have hazardous waste off our property. Please submit a hazardous waste pick up when nearing 180 days.

  • Segregation of Hazardous Waste

    All hazardous materials should be stored and transported to prevent spills and uncontrolled reactions. Segregate chemicals by hazard class. Common examples of proper segregation are:

    • Segregate acids from bases.
    • Segregate oxidizers from organic solvents.
    • Segregate cyanides from acids.
    • Segregate flammable liquids from acids, bases, oxidizers.
    • Segregate flammable solids from acids and oxidizers.
    • Segregate corrosives acids from flammable liquids, flammable solids, bases, oxidizers.
    • Segregate corrosive bases from oxidizers and acids.
    • Segregate water reactive from aqueous solutions and oxidizers.

  • How to dispose of empty hazardous containers?

    Liquid hazardous material containers:

    • No liquid can drain from container when tilted in any direction.
    • Collect any liquid in separate container for proper hazardous waste management.
    • Invert container on a gray spill pad to collect any residual liquid. Dispose of the gray spill pad as hazardous waste.
    • Deface all labels with dark pen.
    • Container can be recycled when completely dried and all labels are marked out.


    Solid hazardous waste container:

    • There is no solid hazardous material remaining that can feasibly be removed.
    • The walls have no encrusted material on them. (A thin layer of dried material is acceptable.)
    • Collect all solid waste in separate container for proper management.
    • Deface all labels with dark pen.
    • Container can be recycled after removing, drying out, and defacing the labels.

  • Requirements for storing hazardous waste

    • Affix a completed hazardous waste label to container before adding any hazardous waste. 
    • Do not accumulate hazardous waste in the lab for more than 180 days.
    • Submit hazardous waste pick up request when approaching 180 days or the container is full.
    • Always keep containers tightly closed, except when transferring waste. If using a funnel, it must be removed and replaced with a tight-fitting lid as soon as you have finished adding the hazardous waste.
    • If the funnel can be closed tightly, it can be left on the container. 
    • Hazardous Waste containers must be chemically compatible with the waste.
    • Ex: Do not use an empty sulfuric acid container to accumulate potassium hydroxide waste. These are incompatible and may react with each other.
    • All wastes should be contained in secondary container while in storage.

Hazardous Waste Label Example

hazardous waste label