Biological Waste
Disposal of Biowastes
Autoclave disinfection of chemical free liquid biohazardous waste
Collect the chemical free waste in a labeled autoclavable container. Autoclave the waste on a liquid cycle, at 121˚C, with the sterilization time determined by the liquid volume. After cooling, the waste may be poured down the lab drain.
Chemical Disinfection of liquid biohazardous waste
The autoclave may not always be a suitable or preferred method for decontamination. Biohazardous waste can also be disinfected by using an EPA-registered chemical disinfectant such as 10% bleach, 70% isopropanol, or 3% hydrogen peroxide. A fresh 10% bleach solution for at least 60 minutes contact time is adequate to disinfect most liquid waste. The chemical disinfectant should be documented in your IBC approved Lab Specific Biosafety Manual. After chemical disinfection, EHS can pick up the waste as chemical waste as there is no biohazard present.
Liquid biowaste containing antibiotics:
Media wastes containing the following heat labile antibiotics can be autoclaved, cooled, and flushed down the lab sink drain.
- Ampicillin
- Amphotericin
- Carbenicillin
- Geneticin
- Gentamicin
- Kanamycin
- Neomycin
- Penicillin
- Puromycin
- Streptomycin
- Tetracycline
Media wastes containing heat stable antibiotics should be chemically treated and picked up as chemical waste as described above.
Biological material treated with most extraction kits
Lysis buffers that include chemical treatments that inactivate pathogens (e.g.; guanidine thiocyanate, phenol/chloroform, Trizol) may be collected and disposed of as chemical waste. Otherwise, please work with EHS.
Solid biohazardous wastes
- BSL-1: Collect in a clear autoclave bag with no biohazard symbol.
- BSL-2: Collect in an orange autoclave bag with a biohazard symbol.
- Autoclave bags must be kept inside lidded, leak-proof, and labeled biowaste containers.
- Biowaste containers must remain closed except when in use.
- At end of a work session or when the bag is 2/3 full, securely close the bag, place it in a secondary container (e.g., autoclave tray), spray it with an appropriate disinfectant, and transport via cart to the autoclave room.
- Bags must remain closed until they are ready to be autoclaved, at which time their closures must be loosened to at least a 1-inch opening to allow steam penetration.
- Bags of solid biowaste must be autoclaved at 121° C for >1hour.
- Bags must be autoclaved daily when possible, or as soon as an autoclave is available. Full bags must not be left unattended and unsecured in the laboratory or the autoclave/glassware room.
- All BSL-2 solid waste must be decontaminated by autoclaving and disposed of as Regulated Medical Waste.
- Autoclaved BSL-1 waste can be discarded into regular trash.
Agar plates with antibiotics in the medium:
- BSL-1 -- It is acceptable to autoclave BSL-1 waste containing heat-stable or heat-sensitive antibiotics, and once decontaminated, dispose of waste in regular trash. Bagged waste must be well contained, allowing adequate time for the breakdown of antibiotics when disposed of in a landfill.
- BSL-2 – It is acceptable to autoclave BSL-2 waste containing heat-stable or heat-labile antibiotics, and once decontaminated, this waste must be discarded as Regulated Medical Waste---the same disposal method as BSL-2 plates containing no antibiotic.
Solid biowaste/lab .debris mixed with chemical waste
Contact Environmental Health & Safety to determine the best disposal method
Animal and animal-related wastes
- Lab workers who produce a minimal volume of tissue material with no chemical present (e.g., tiny pieces of dissected unfixed tissue) can dispose of that material in solid biowaste which will be autoclaved.
- Larger volumes of tissue/carcass waste or other types of animal/animal-related wastes should contact EHS to coordinate disposal.
Plant and plant-realted wastes
BSL- 1P, BSL2-P greenhouse plant waste (transgenic, exotic, infected plants, soil, pots, etc.):
- Collect in clear autoclave bags or other bags/containers appropriate for the method of biological deactivation to be used.
- Heat inactivation can be accomplished by:
- Autoclaving (for smaller volumes) at 121˚ C, 15-30 psi, for 15-180 minutes, depending on type and state of material.
- Treatment in greenhouse steam box/soil sterilization box (for larger volumes, for fungal, viral or nematode plant pathogens under permit) at ≥ 104° C for 3 hours. NOTE: Permission to use greenhouse steam box must be obtained from the greenhouse manager.
- BSL-1P material can be composted or desiccated, according to IBC approved protocols.
- Deactivation of plant/seed material must be confirmed before disposal. Acceptable methods of confirmation include:
- Recording time/temperature criteria of heat treatment used.
- If autoclaving, use verification devices.
- Following successful deactivation, material can be discarded in regular trash cans with black liners.
Plain plant waste (non-transgenic, non-exotic, not infected, etc.)
- According to your lab-specific situation, this type of waste can be handled in several ways, at the PI’s discretion:
- Collect, deactivate and discard this waste as if it is BSL-1P or BSL2-P waste.
- Collect material in opaque trash bags; when full, close securely and discard bags in regular trash.
Regulated Medical Waste
Click here for more information on disposing regulated medical waste.
Sharps biohazard wastes
- Sharps contaminated with biohazardous materials include anything that could puncture an autoclave bag. Examples include:
- Pipette tips;
- Wood applicator sticks/ swabs;
- Syringe + needles;
- Blades;
- Glass slides/coverslips;
- Serological pipettes;
- Glass Pasteur pipettes;
- Disposable plastic pipettes;
- Broken glass; and/or
- Blood tubes/capillary tubes.
- Discard all sharps used with biologicals into lidded, rigid, labeled Bio-sharps containers. Environmental Health & Safety supplies containers that meet the requirements of being closeable, puncture-resistant, and leakproof; they can be requested through the online Safety Management System.
- Sharps waste containers must:
- Be located for ease of accessibility, i.e., at or near point-of-use;
- Be replaced routinely;
- Be securely closed before removal from point-of-use.
- Never re-cap needles or scalpel blades before disposal into a sharps container.
- Avoid forcing sharps waste into a full container; this has caused puncture injuries.
- All sharps containers are to be autoclaved using the same cycle as used for biological solid waste and then disposed of in the same manner as BSL-2 waste into RMW.
- In situations when the collection of Sharps waste is intermittent or of smaller volume, avoid collecting them in large sharps containers. Use smaller Sharps containers whenever possible, as these will fill more quickly and thus can be decontaminated more expeditiously.
- Rigid plastic bottles (e.g., laundry detergent bottles) with lids can be used for sharps collection and disposal but must be well labeled.
Lab coat storage, decontamination, and laundering
Click here to learn more.