Waste disposal
See section 3.5 of the safety manual for the official rules. Below is described how waste is commonly handled in the labs.
Waste disposal in Huygens wing 1
Liquid waste
Full liquid waste containers are to be moved to the waste cabinet in the transfer room (by the labs near the entrance to the wing) with appropriate stickers. On the waste container should be a sticker detailing the type of waste, filled in with the department (SOC), the lab location where the waste container came from, and the date on which the container is moved into the transfer room. If this sticker contains any hazard symbols, a sticker of a larger version of this symbol should also be applied. These stickers can be found in the transfer room and on the windowsills in the labs.
Do not fill liquid waste containers more than 80%.
Note that only waste containers made of plastic are allowed to be moved to the transfer room. Waste containers made of glass (such as often used in personal fume hoods) are to be emptied into plastic ones.
Empty liquid waste containers can be found in the hallway by the transfer room, or in lab 03.154 (by the TLC-MS and Biotage Isolera). Order new ones if they run out.
If you are unsure which type of waste container (sticker) is needed, consult the Liquid waste flow chart.
Solid waste
Each lab has one or multiple solid waste containers. These are round brown containers with a beige lid. When full, these must have stickers placed on them just like the liquid waste containers, and must be moved to the transfer room.
Empty solid waste containers can be found in the transfer room or just outside it. Order new ones if they run out.
Many people have a small solid waste container in their fume hood, which they empty into their lab’s solid waste container. Be sure not to let this one become too full for safety reasons.
Needles
Needles (and other sharp implements such as scalpels) must be disposed of in a Sharpsafe, a small yellow container intended for sharp waste. When full, move them to the transfer room?
Do not re-sheathe needles in the protective plastic sheathe they come in.
Normal trash bin
Most labs have a standard bin by the sinks. These are emptied by the cleaners when full. These are mostly used for used paper towels. If paper towels have come into contact with any chemicals other than water, put them in the solid waste containers instead.
Other waste that can typically be considered clean, such as packaging materials may also go in here. Note that gloves, even unused ones, do NOT go in the normal trash bins, but in the solid waste containers.
Plastic and paper waste
Most labs have bins for (clean) plastic and paper waste. These bins can be emptied in the container storage room next to the elevator opposite Wing 1.
Empty bottles
Empty bottles are rinsed with acetone. Depending on how hazardous the previous contents of the bottle were, it may be necessary to rinse thoroughly with other solvents. The bottle is then placed in a fume hood without its cap for several days, until all liquid inside is evaporated. The small sticker with the matrix bar code and SC number is removed from the bottle and placed by a computer, where it can be checked out of the Lab Servant system by an employee. All hazard symbols and text about the chemical are crossed out with a black marker, and the bottle is disposed of in a glass disposal bin. The cap is disposed of in the plastic waste or kept for future use.
When the glass disposal bin is full, it can be emptied in wing 2.
Page notes
Not sure about:
Packaging materials and clean gloves in normal trash?
How to order new waste containers if they run out.
Empty bottles that held solids? Same as liquid?
Full Sharpsafes to transfer room?
How to empty glass bin in wing 2.
Broken glassware?