Sharps waste includes needles, syringes, broken glass, glass slides, cover slips, razors, scalpels, knives,
pasteur pipettes, or any other object with a sharp edge. 

Dispose of sharps in a rigid, puncture resistant sharps container.  Sharps containers must be labeled with a biohazard label
and have a lid that can be securely shut.  To prevent injury, NEVER fill sharps containers past the fill line. 
When the fill line on a sharps container is reached close the container and do not add any more waste.

1. Close the container shut when the fill-line on the side of the container is reached.
2. Tape the lid closed.
3. Place in a grey medical waste tub lined with a red medical waste bag from EH&S. 

Additional Resources:

Biosafety SOP: Sharps Handling and Disposal Procedures

Proper Disposal of Sharps at Animal Facilities

• Liquid biohazardous waste includes Risk Group 2 contaminated cell culture media and solutions, blood and bodily fluids containing blood.
• Use a bleach mixture (final concentration of 1:10) for a minimum of 30 minutes to decontaminate biohazardous liquid.  Once the liquid has been decontaminated it can be poured down the drain. 
• Liquid biohazardous waste containing hazardous chemicals should be disposed of as a chemical waste and never treated with bleach.  Adding bleach to hazardous chemicals can cause an adverse reaction.   
• Liquid biohazardous waste containing radioactive materials should be disposed of as radioactive waste.

Additional Resources:

Waste: Do not mix bleach with biological materials in trizol

Solid biohazardous waste includes Risk Group 2 contaminated materials such as gloves, cell culture plates, paper products, pipettes, cell culture plates and any other solid material contaminated with infectious agents.  In addition it includes Risk Group 1 contaminated material from Recombinant DNA procedures.  All solid medical waste is picked up by EH&S and treated offsite for disposal. Unless specifically authorized by their BUA, Laboratories are not allowed to autoclave or treat medical waste themselves.

1. Dispose of solid biohazardous waste materials in RED biohazard bags marked with the international biohazard symbol. 
2. Red bags containing medical waste must be stored in hard-sided containers with securable lids.  ​​​​​The containers must be labeled with the international biohazard symbol on all sides.
3. Ensure the container is kept closed when not adding waste and not overfilled.
4. ​​​​​For disposal, transfer the red bag to an EH&S provided grey medical waste tub lined with a red bag. ​​​​

Additional Resources:

Medical (Red Bag) Waste Policy and Procedures

Pathological waste includes animal and human tissues, animal carcasses, Risk Group 2+, and Risk Group 3 materials.  All pathological waste is picked up by EH&S and incinerated offsite for disposal.

1. Dispose of Pathological waste in RED biohazard bags the international biohazard symbol.
2. Red bags must be stored in hard-sided containers with lids.  The containers must be labeled with the international biohazard symbol on all sides and labeled with the words, “Incineration Only”.
3. Prior to pickup by EH&S all Risk Group 2+ and Risk Group 3 waste must be autoclaved before it can be picked up by EH&S for disposal.
4. For disposal, transfer the red bags to a red biohazard tub labeled “Incineration Only”.