Biohazard, glass, sharps, and hazardous chemical waste receptacles are available for your safety, the safety of the Harvard community, and for the protection of the environment. Please use them properly and avoid putting regular garbage in biohazard, glass or sharps waste. Notify Teaching Labs Staff when a waste receptacle is full or nearly full.

BIOHAZARD WASTE

Place solid biohazard waste in orange biohazard bags as instructed by teaching staff. Do not put broken glass, Pasteur pipettes, blades, needles, toothpicks or other sharp objects in biohazard bags. Do not put liquid biohazard waste in biohazard bags. Do not overfill biohazard bags. Most liquid biohazard waste can be poured down the sink. It may need to be treated with bleach first. Liquid biohazard waste containing toxins should be disposed of as chemical hazardous waste. Follow the instructions of the teaching staff.

GLASS WASTE

The glass waste is for broken glassware and fragile glass such as pipettes, tubing, glass slides and coverslips, and small test tubes. Do not put other types of waste in the glass waste boxes. If glass waste is contaminated with a hazardous substance, it may need to be disposed of as solid hazardous waste. Follow the instructions of the teaching staff.

SHARPS WASTE

Razor blades, microtome blades, pins, needles, scalpel blades, damaged sharp forceps (Dumonts), and syringes go in the red sharps containers. Place the entire syringe in the container not just the needle. It is important that these containers do not become over filled. Avoid putting Pasteur pipettes in sharps containers. Capillary tubes are OK.

HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL WASTE

Containers for hazardous waste are provided in each lab or in the hoods between labs. Please check labels carefully to make sure that you are using the proper container. In order to avoid hazardous spills, please keep containers in plastic bins and use funnels. Keep hazardous waste containers closed. Notify your TF or the teaching labs staff if a hazardous waste container is full or nearly full. Please see the EH&S Student Guide to Laboratory Waste

Contact Teaching Labs Staff