Chemical Waste Storage and Disposal

This section is based primarily off of the RMS Hazardous Waste Procedure, which can be found below.

RMS Hazardous Waste Procedure

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Drain Disposal vs Hazardous Waste Disposal

Waste such as brine, bleached biologicals, saltwater and buffers can be disposed down the drain. Aqueous solutions with a pH range 2.5 – 12 can be drain disposed as long as they do not exhibit any hazardous characteristics (flammable, corrosive, reactive, toxic). Any solutions outside of the 2.5 – 12 range can be neutralized and properly disposed of through RMS. If you are unsure of whether your waste can be drain disposed, check out the hazardous waste section of the RMS website or contact Bill Wolter directly (william.r.wolter.2@nd.edu).

Hazardous waste is defined as any material designated as a hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which may include, but is not limited to, undesired or outdated chemicals, spent chemical solutions, chemically contaminated debris or media. RMS will pick up and discard chemical, biohazardous, and radioactive waste. 

In order to dispose of hazardous waste of any kind, you will need to fill out a discard tag for the type of waste needed to be disposed of (biohazardous, chemical, radioactive). Instructions for filling out these forms can be found below. In order to fill out any of the tags you will need to be signed in to Okta.

Upon submitting the form, you will receive an email confirmation from RMS along with the discard tag you filled out. Print out the discard tag and tape it to the waste container that will be picked up. RMS will not take any containers that do not have a discard tag attached to them.

If you are in a new lab space or have changed the place that your waste is normally stored, email Bill Wolter to inform him of the location of the waste.

Hazardous Waste Storage

Many labs store hazardous waste inside of old solvent bottles. Before a solvent bottle can be used for waste storage, it must be emptied of its original contents, have all hazardous materials removed, and be fully defaced to the point of unrecognizability.

Before defacing make sure to rinse the container fully. After rinsing, you should scribble over the labeling with a dark marker or pen.  The original label on the container should be completely unreadable to minimize confusion. Once these steps have been completed, place the uncapped container in a hood to fully dry. An example from the RMS Hazardous Waste Procedure can be found below:

RMS will provide some of the following specialized waste containers if requested:

Additionally, some washed and defaced solvent bottles may be provided upon request, but these are limited in stock and can not be guaranteed.

Any further questions regarding hazardous waste disposal or pickup can be directed to Bill Wolter (william.r.wolter.2@nd.edu).