Hazardous Waste Disposal Information
Hazardous Waste - Do not flush the following compounds down the drain:
- Heavy and toxic metals including arsenic, barium, copper, tin, lead, silver, iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium, zinc, manganese, and mercury salts
- Strong oxidizers
- Corrosives
- Air/water reactive
- Sulfides, bisulfides, fluorides, cyanides, chromates, dichromates
- Phosphates
- Commercial solvents especially chlorinated solvents
- Flammable liquids, solids or gases
- Insoluble material
Non-Hazardous Chemical Waste - Can be flushed down the drain:
- Aqueous acid and base waste between pH 3 and 11 as long as it doesn’t contain heavy metals or other toxic substances
- Aqueous base waste between pH 11 and 12.5 as long as the volume is less than 0.5 L (and contains no heavy metals or toxic substances)
- Ethanol solutions in water that don’t contain heavy metals or toxic substances
- Calcium, sodium, lithium, magnesium, potassium salts (not strong oxidizers)
- Chlorides, bromides, carbonates and bicarbonates, sulfates, nitrates, thiosulfates
- Dextrose
- Gelatin, glucose, glycerin
- 3% Hydrogen peroxide
- Iron powder (wet or oxidized) – trash
- Starch (aqueous – drain, solid - trash)
Appropriate aqueous and organic waste containers will be provided. If in doubt, leave it and I’ll take care of it. Just be sure to LABEL the contents. If the contents are in an open container, do not label as hazardous waste. List the contents only.
Waste should be segregated based on incompatibilities. Proper segregation of wastes involves making sure that wastes within a bottle are compatible. For a complete list of incompatible materials see the chart. Listed below are some examples:
- Acids and bases.
- Organics and acids.
- Cyanide, sulfide or arsenic compounds and acids.
- Alkali or alkali earth metals etc. and aqueous waste.
- Powdered or reactive metals and combustible materials.
- Mercury or silver and ammonium containing compounds.
- Wastes of strong oxidizers should be kept isolated and not added to other hazardous waste containers.
Sodium bicarbonate is located next to the sink for acid spills and acid neutralization. To neutralize a base, use the acids located in the acid storage cabinet under the hood.
For more information visit the EH&S website.
