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If possible, reuse your container for disposal of that same chemical or compatible chemicals. Cross out or remove the original label and then fill out and stick a hazardous waste label on the container.
Containers for the chemicals listed below can be recycled.
- Acetone
- Alcohols
- Hexane, toluene, xylene
- Nontoxic buffers, salts
- Sugars, nutrients
- Cleaning products
- anything on the chemical trash list
Ensure that these containers are empty and dry, with no chemical residue; they will be hand sorted by recycling employees. Remove and discard caps, deface labels, and place the containers in the cans and
bottles toter or dumpster at your building's loading dock. Please do not use the
public area or classroom/conference room cans and bottles receptacles. This is a
self-serve recycling program; Custodial Services is not responsible for
transporting these recyclables.
Finally, as with food and drink containers, only certain types of empty lab containers are recyclable at this time:
- all plastic bottles and tubs (no hard plastics such as lids, vials and trays)
- all glass containers except Pyrex ("lab glass") and bottles with anti-shatter coating
- all metal containers except for aerosol cans (these are managed as hazardous waste if still pressurized, marked "empty" and placed in the trash if not)
If you are unable to reuse or recycle your container, put it in the trash. First use "normal" means, such as inverting, shaking and scraping, to empty the container. Dry the container in the fume hood if needed. Deface the container and place it in or next to the trash. If the chemical is very toxic or a pesticide, triple rinse the container, collecting rinse water into a sturdy, compatible screw-top container. Dispose of the rinse water as hazardous waste. Dry the container in a fume hood, deface and place it in or next to the trash. Custodial Services staff are instructed not to pick up trash that contains wet or capped chemical containers, or containers with labels that have not been crossed out.
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