General Rules
Bacterial Cultures and Miniprep Waste
All liquid waste from bacterial cultures and minipreps should be pooled in a glass bottle or flask and sanitized with bleach.
For glass test tubes:
For flasks:
For 96-well plates:
Miniprep waste
Waste from minipreps (media from cultures and flow-thru from columns) should be pooled and treated as in steps 6-9 for tubes.
Gloves
Gloves that are not contaminated with cell material or chemical waste can be disposed in general trash. Gloves that are contaminated with cell material or chemical waste (e.g. Gel Red, acid, etc.) should be placed in biohazard waste.
Paper towels and bench liner
Paper products that are not contaminated with cell material or chemical waste can be disposed in general trash. Paper products that are contaminated with cell material or chemical waste (e.g. Gel Red, acid, etc.) should be placed in biohazard waste.
Agar plates
Plates should be wrapped in parafilm or tape and discarded in biohazard waste.
Microfluidic Experiments
Chips – All chips must be discarded in sharps waste (red sharps containers in scope room and by UV/Ozone cleaner).
Lines – Used lines should be discarded in biohazard waste
Syringes – Used syringes should be discarded in biohazard waste
Pins and luer stubs – pins and luer stubs should be reused after cleaning by sonication in ethanol. If pins and stubs need to be discarded, they should be placed in sharps waste.
Sharps
All needles, razor blades, microfluidic chips, glass slides and coverslips and any other small items that would tear the trash can liners need to be discarded in the red sharps containers (in the scope room and by the UV/Ozone cleaner). Filled sharps containers should be sealed according to the instructions on the container and placed in a biohazard waste bin. New sharps containers are located under the fume hood.
Broken glass and glass chemical containers
Small pieces of broken glass should be placed in sharps containers. Larger pieces of glass (such as broken glassware) should be placed in the broken glass box under the shakers, after being decontaminated if there was cell material in the glassware. Glass reagent bottles should be rinsed three times, then placed in the broken glass box, and the caps should be placed in regular trash.
When the broken glass box is full, seal with tape, mark the outside “broken glass” and place the box on the Keck Hall loading dock.
Pipette tips and serological pipettes
Pipette tips should be discarded in biohazard waste. Serological pipettes that have been used with cell material should be discarded in biohazard waste. Serological pipettes that have not been used with cell material should be placed in the pipette disposal box. When that box is full, it should be taped and marked for disposal in the normal trash.
Biohazard Waste
Biohazard waste is placed in the biohazard waste boxes that EHS provides. The box should be sealed on the bottom with clear packing tape, and lined with a red biohazard bag. The box should be filled only 3/4 full, and should not weigh more than 40 pounds. Once full, the bag should be tied shut with a wire tie, and the box should be closed. Lab and EHS labels are on the side of the biosafety cabinet and should be applied to the box at the site marked “generator label”. Full biohazard boxes should be taken weekly to the loading dock of George R. Brown Hall.
Liquid Waste (non-biological)
Non-biological liquid waste should be discarded in dedicated waste containers. Acid waste is next to the acid cabinet. Organic waste is on the chip bench. Ethidium bromide waste is at the gel area.
Gel waste
Used gels should be placed in the 5 gallon bucket under the gel area. Used buffer should be poured into the 5 gallon carboy at the gel area.