All chemical product containers should be emptied to the extent practical. Any residue remaining in the containers may result in the generation of hazardous waste that must be properly handled and disposed of. Re-use of improperly handled "empty" containers, could result in health and/or safety concerns.
Students and faculty shall not place empty, "potentially contaminated" hazardous materials containers (metal, plastic, or glass) into normal trash baskets. All emptied containers should be re-used when feasible. Many glass reagent bottles are plastic-coated and can be used as satellite accumulation containers in the chemistry labs. They should be returned to the Chemical Stores Room (403). Non-coated 2.5 and 4 liter glass bottles can be used for shipping hazardous waste for disposal and should also be returned to Temple 403.
Containers that are not to be re-used should be disposed of as follows:
Thoroughly rinse all containers prior to disposal. ‘Empty’ acid and caustic containers should be rinsed with water to remove any residual chemicals. Assuming the container has been adequately emptied, there should be no problem carefully adding water to a few drops of acid remaining in a container. The rinse water from corrosive containers may be disposed of into the sanitary sewers and flushed with water.
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Alcohol and other water-soluble reagent containers should also be rinsed with water and drained. The rinse water from these containers may also be disposed of into the municipal sewers and flushed with water.
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‘Empty’ solvent containers should be set open in the fume hoods to allow any residues to evaporate before they are discarded. If a container held a reagent with a low evaporation rate, it may be necessary to rinse it with a solvent such as acetone to adequately remove the residues. The rinsate must then be poured into the proper hazardous waste container and the ‘empty’ container can then be placed in the fume hood to "dry".
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Remove (or, if this is not possible, thoroughly deface) all labels before containers are disposed.
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Remove all lids of containers before disposal into a dumpster.
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Collect small empty containers (less than 2.5 liters in size) into an appropriate temporary holding/collection vessel (box, bucket, etc. but not normal trash basket).
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Note: Environmental Management recommends that rinsed glass containers 1-liter or smaller be collected into a glass disposal box (Marked Non-Contaminated Sharps) for disposal. Once the temporary holding/collection vessel is full, or reasonably heavy (20 lbs or less), it shall then be taken by the user to the appropriate building dumpster for emptying or disposal. Custodial Services personnel are not responsible for removing these empty-container-collection vessels from the space, but may be willing to do so if contacted.
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Set larger, empty containers (2.5 liter or greater in size) in a safe area. (A holding vessel is not required.) Users shall take the containers to the appropriate building dumpster for disposal. Custodial Services personnel are not responsible for removing these empty containers, but may be willing to do so if contacted. As previously noted, many of the larger containers can be re-used for accumulating and/or shipping hazardous waste.