Chemical waste

Waste from chemical products must not be poured into drains or placed together with conventional waste if it poses a hazard to health or the environment through, for example, corrosion, hazardous vapour or gas formation, fire or explosion, or if the product negatively impacts treatment processes or poses a hazard to the external environment. This means that most chemical products should be disposed of as chemical waste. Chemical waste may only be disposed of by companies that hold the necessary permits from the County Administrative Board.

The producer of the waste is responsible for ensuring that the waste is disposed of correctly. The basic rule is that a chemical product marked with hazard pictograms should be disposed of as hazardous waste, for example toxic, carcinogenic, corrosive, harmful to the fetus, environmentally hazardous, infectious or flammable dangerous goods (see Hazardous waste).

Storage (interim storage pending destruction)

Chemical waste must be packaged or sealed in suitable containers/packages. Wet waste must be collected in buckets or cans with tight-fitting lids, and liquids must be collected in bottles with tight-fitting lids. The containers must be clearly marked with the contents, concentration (if possible), department and name and placed in dedicated chemical cabinets in an interim storage room pending the booking of hazardous waste collection.

If empty chemical containers are reused for waste storage, they must first be cleaned to prevent undesirable chemical reactions, and all old labels and markings must be removed to prevent confusion regarding the contents. The waste containers must be suitable for the waste that is to be stored in them. For example, fluoride solutions may not be stored in glass bottles, and highly oxidising substances such as concentrated nitric acid may not be stored in plastic bottles. Waste bottles for peroxide-forming substances must be made of dark glass and stored in a cool, dark place.

The basic rule is that different types of chemicals must not be mixed.
Organic solvents are an exception to the rule of not mixing different chemicals/solutions. Organic solvents can, in many cases, be mixed together in the same waste container. For example, ethanol, methanol and toluene can be mixed together.
Halogenated solvents must be kept separate pending disposal, because this type of waste must be disposed of and processed separately from other solvents.
Solvent waste that can form peroxides, e.g. ethers and tetrahydrofurans, must not be mixed with other solvent waste.

To order plastic boxes, labels, transport and destruction, see your school/division's internal documents and the university's procured waste management company.