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. New stickers can be ordered through Lab Servant.
Do not fill liquid waste containers more than 80%.

Note that only waste containers made of plastic (jerry cans of 5 or 10 liters) 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 several locations around the lab. Order new ones through Lab Servant if they run out.

If you are unsure which type of waste container (sticker) is needed, consult the Liquid waste flow chart.

Solid waste

This includes silica from the chromatography columns, soiled paper and glass contaminated with chemicals, but with the exception of heavy metals, needles and special waste products (see above) such as ink cartridges, batteries and adhesives. Each lab has one or multiple solid waste containers. These are either round brown containers with a beige lid, or black containers. When full, these must have stickers placed on them (label 5.12 and ADR label toxic) 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.

Solid heavy metals, to prevent ignition, are collected in liquid waste containers according to the Liquid waste flow chart.

Glass

Glass, when contaminated with chemicals, can be collected separately in a similar brown container with beige lid or in a solid waste container (See above). The appropriate labels should be attached to the container (label 5.12 and ADR label toxic).
Clean glass is collected in a glass waste container in the laboratory. Rinse glass first if it has been contaminated with chemicals, or let solvents evaporate in the fume cupboard. IMPORTANT: remove the original labels or render them illegible.

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 waste container. The cap is disposed of in the plastic waste or kept for future use.
When the glass waste container is full, it can be emptied in wing 2.

Needles

Needles (and other sharp implements such as scalpels) must be disposed of in a Sharpsafe, a yellow container intended for sharp waste. Preferably, this container is only used for needles without the covers, as putting the cover back on the needle is an additional risk and the covers take up extra space. To detach a needle from a syringe in a safe manner, the incisions in the SharpSafe lid can be used. A SharpSafe should NOT be used for glass; neither for syringes, tubing or any other non-sharp thing you might attach to a needle. When full, close the lid of the Sharpsafe (which is irreversible) and move it to the transfer room.

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.

Chemicals

Containers of chemicals that are no longer used can be returned to the Logistics Centre (LC) by placing them in the transfer room (?). The LC may refuse to take chemicals if the quantity is less than 25 grams or 25 ml, or if the container contains less than 10% of the original contents.

Page notes

Not sure about:
Packaging materials and clean gloves in normal trash?
Empty containers that held solids? Same as liquid?
How to empty glass bin in wing 2.
How do you return chemicals to the LC?