Laboratory Safety Guide
Biohazardous Waste Disposal
Biohazardous waste is waste that contains infectious agents, blood or body fluids, including waste from research and
teaching activities covered by biosafety levels 1 or 2.
Research and Teaching Laboratories
Examples of Materials
Container Requirements
Disposal Requirements
Solid Waste
All contaminated gloves,
paper towels, gauze,
Kimwipes, absorbents,
Petri dishes, culture vials,
plastic vacutainers,
lab equipment
 Container must be leak–and
puncture proof
 Line with a red biohazard
bag;
 Lid must be in place when
waste is not being added to
container
 Label with “BIOHAZARD”
stickers on all visible sides
 Keep container and lid clean at all times;
 Maintain access to the container: do not store items on lid
 Remove all liquid from solid materials. Liquids must not be placed in the
bags as they can easily leak.
 Place all solid biohazard waste in a red or orange bag.
o Red and orange bags must be stored in impervious containers to
prevent leaking or contamination.
o It is a recommended practice to double bag the hazardous
material, but is not required.
 All solid biohazardous waste must be autoclaved.
 Prior to autoclaving, crisscross the bag's biohazard symbol and/or
markings with heat sensitive autoclave tape.
 Ensure the autoclave is set for the appropriate time. Setting the
autoclave for too short a period may not properly disinfect the material.
 Once the waste is autoclaved mark the autoclaved bag with an
“Autoclaved/ Decontaminated" sticker. Place the autoclaved back into a
black opaque bag and fully seal the bag. The autoclaved waste can be
thrown into the regular trash.
Liquid
Waste
Any liquid from Petri
dishes, culture vials,
vacutainers, lab
equipment, etc
NA
 Liquid waste must be separated from solid waste
 Liquid waste must be decontaminated with an appropriate disinfectant
o 10% bleach solution
o 70% ethanol solution
o 2% westcodyne solution
 Flush the disinfected material down the sink allowing the cold water to
run for a period of time (at least 5 minutes).
 Do not flush nonaqueous solutions, such as agarose gels or broths,
down the drain as they will clog the pipes.
Laboratory Safety Guide
Examples of Materials
Container Requirements
Disposal Requirements
Sharps
All needles, syringes,
scalpels, razor blades,
pipette tips, Pasteur
pipettes, glass
vacutainers, capillary
tubes, slides and cover
slips, contaminated broken
glassware
 Container must be rigid, leakproof, and puncture-proof;
 Single use only;
 Keep baffle in place;
 Label with “BIOHAZARD
 SHARPS” sticker
 All sharps must be placed in appropriate sharps container.
 Once the container is ¾ full, close the top of the container.
 If the sharps are chemically contaminated, place a yellow Hazardous
Waste label on the container and complete the label. Cross out the
biohazard symbol on the container. Contact the Chemical Stockroom
for a hazardous waste pickup.
 If the sharps are radioactive, cross out the biohazard symbol and place
a radioactive material sticker on the container. Contact the Radiation
Safety Officer to request a waste pickup.
 If the sharps are biohazardous or not contaminated, arrangements
should be made with the Environmental Health & Safety Manager to
have the waste transported to the Canton-Potsdam Hospital.
Pathological
Animal carcasses
suspected to be or
potentially infected;
 Container must be leak-proof
and puncture-proof;
 Lid must be in place when
waste is not being added to
container
 Label with “BIOHAZARD”
and “PATHOLOGICAL
WASTE” stickers
 Waste must be placed in red or orange biohazard waste bags.
 If waste is chemically contaminated (ex: preserved in formaldehyde or
other similar substance), place a yellow hazard waste sticker on the bag.
Contact the Chemical Stockroom for a waste pickup.
 If waste is not chemically contaminated, arrangements should be made
with the Environmental Health & Safety Manager to have the waste
transported to the Canton-Potsdam Hospital.
Recognizable human
tissue, organs and body
parts