New Mexico State University

DISPOSAL PROCEDURE FOR OTHER LAB WASTES

I. Broken Glassware

Plastic lined, cardboard boxes and/or plastic buckets can be used by laboratories for the storage and removal of broken glassware. The pickup of this material is provided through Custodial Services.. The containers are identified with a “glass only” label. When the buckets become full, OFS/PPD Custodial Services will empty them.

Most discarded and empty glassware should be placed into the “glass only” buckets. Do not put the following items into a “glass only” bucket:

• Intact, empty chemical containers (affix an “Empty” label to the bottle, then place in the hallway or in the regular trash can)
• Pasteur pipettes – (put in sharps containers)
• glassware that is contaminated with a potentially infectious material – (put in sharps containers)
• empty chemical containers that held an acutely hazardous chemical – (dispose of as chemical waste, following EH&S  procedures)
• any unbroken and usable glassware listed as restricted glassware (see below), carefully break the glassware to render it unusable or call EH&S  at 646-3327 for pick-up.

II. Restricted Glass Apparatus

Certain laboratory apparatus is restricted. They are prohibited from being sold or transferred to any person or entity not holding a permit or waiver. Therefore, this lab apparatus cannot be sent to surplus for sale to the public nor can it be given to anyone outside of NMSU. The following items are identified as controlled:

• adapter tubes
• condensers
• distilling apparatus
• distilling flasks
• encapsulating machines
• Erlenmeyer, two-necked, single neck, round bottom, thermometer, and filtering flasks
• filter, buchner, and separatory funnels
• flask heaters
• heating mantles
• Soxhlet extractors
• tableting machines
• three-necked flasks
• transformers
• vacuum dryers

To dispose of the above listed items, first try to find another lab group at NMSU that can use them. If that is not possible, contact EH&S at 646-3327. They can be disposed of in the “glass only” buckets if they are broken and unusable.

III. Sharps

For a formal definition of sharps, please see

Disposal

All sharps must be placed into sharps containers. When a sharps container container with biological waste is ready for pick-up, request disposal from EH&S.

Sharps Container Guidelines

1. Do not fill containers more than 3/4 full.
2. Keep contents of sharps containers as free of chemicals as possible.
3. To avoid accidental sticks, place needles directly into containers and do not recap, bend, break, clip, or remove needles from disposable syringes.
4. Do not dispose of sharps containers with the regular trash.

IV. Mixed Wastes (Radioactive waste with biological and/or chemical waste)

Call EH&S at 646-3327 for review.