Waste Disposal

If you are still unsure as to how to dispose of your waste, please refer to the Department of Environmental Health & Safety’s Waste Disposal Manual or contact them directly for further instruction.

Animal Waste

  • All carcasses must be placed in biobags and stored in a carcass freezer accordingly (coloured bins)
  • Carcasses are sent offsite for subsequent incineration

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Autoclaving

TRAINING AND USE

  • All users are required to take our autoclave training course before using the autoclaves
  • Look for sign up sheets for the course posted in the autoclave rooms
  • Courses will be offered periodically (3 times a year – January, May, September)
  • Instructions are posted on the walls for the autoclave rooms, but please ask for help if you are not sure how to operate these machines or if there is any problem such as steam leaking out
  • The high pressure and steam can cause severe burns or an explosion if the door is not closed properly

CONTACTS

  • Janet or Lisa by phone: 416-978-3138
  • If neither Janet or Lisa are available, go to the administrative office for help
  • After hours call 416-978-3000 (engineers/repairs) or the Campus Police at 416-978-2323

AUTOCLAVE LOCATIONS

  • Surgical Suites – portable autoclave for small loads – NO WASTE
  • 2nd Floor – for large loads – NO WASTE
  • 3rd Floor – for small loads and sterilizing level 1 bacterial waste
  • 5th Floor – portable autoclave for small loads – NO WASTE; this autoclave is self-contained so it functions even when building steam is off
  • Once you complete the mandatory autoclave training, you will be receive a username and password, granting you access to the online reservations system
  • For use of the surgical suite autoclaves, contact Christine McCaul
  • Special Notice for 2nd Floor Autoclave – the sliding door is on a counterweight and needs a very light touch to open or close it – use with care and slide slowly; do not let it bang up or down
  • If you slam the door it will break the switch and ruin the gasket, which is a costly repair – treat our shared equipment with care!

AUTOCLAVING GARBAGE?

  • Do NOT overfill the bag – leave enough room to close the bag in a safe manner
  • Place the autoclave bag in a tub, and only then start autoclaving – hot media inside the autoclave will clog the drain
  • The material coming out of the autoclave is extremely hot – use oven gloves to protect your hands
  • Once the garbage has been autoclaved, let the material cool for several hours before placing in a regular garbage bin

AUTOCLAVING SHARP MATERIALS

  • Autoclave all sharp items such as contaminated broken glassware, pipettes, or razor blades in separate autoclave bags
  • After autoclaving, dispose of the bags into one of the totes (lab glass and plastic tabs) supplied by Recycling
  • For sharps containers, contact Environmental Protection Services at 416-946-3473 for proper disposal

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Autoclaving Agar Plates

NEVER POUR HOT AGAR INTO THE SINKS OR INTO THE FLOOR DRAIN

  • Put the plates into doubled autoclave bags that are not biohazard labelled
  • Tie or tape the bags loosely closed to allow the steam to penetrate, place the bags into an autoclave tub and autoclave
  • After removing the tub from the autoclave allow it to cool in the autoclave room before handling
  • Place the cooled bags into the garbage pails in the autoclave room

AGAR PLATES USED IN LEVEL 2 BIO-HAZARD RESEARCH

  • Agar plates used in Level 2 Bio-hazard research must be double bagged in Biohazard labelled autoclave bags and autoclaved
  • The Biosafety Certificate number and room number must be clearly written on the bag
  • Put this autoclaved material into yellow bio-hazardous waste pails to be collected by the hazardous waste technicians

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Biological Waste

  • The BSF can supply bio bags for a fee
  • Collect materials contaminated with hazardous biological agents in appropriate containers and sterilize/disinfect before disposal
  • Biological waste includes:
    • Liquids such as used cell culturing media, supernatant, blood or blood fractions (serum) etc., which contain viable biological agents
    • Any part of an animal infected (or suspected to be infected) with a communicable disease
    • Non-sharp, solid laboratory waste (empty plastic cell culture flasks and petri dishes, empty plastic tubes, gloves, wrapper, absorbent tissues, etc.) which may be, or is known to be, contaminated with viable biological agents
    • All sharp and pointed items used in medical care, diagnosis, and research, including the manipulation and care of laboratory animals, which are considered potentially infectious
    • Laboratory glassware which is known or suspected to be contaminated with hazardous biological agents

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Bucket List

  • The BSF can supply red pails, sharps containers (red and yellow), and bio bags for a fee
  • See the bucket list poster for information regarding different types of waste disposal containers

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Chemical Waste

  • For the University’s Chemical Waste Disposal procedures, visit the Environmental Health & Safety website
  • Collect chemical waste in sealable, leak proof containers compatible with the chemical
  • Do not fill the container more than 80% full
  • Do not mix incompatible chemicals
  • Unused chemicals or out of date chemicals can be left in their original containers
  • A chemical waste label must be filled in and attached to the container
  • Larger quantities of chemical waste, such as from lab decommissioning, will be collected by UofT Hazardous Waste Management – they can be reached at 416-978-7000 for pickup

DISPOSING OF CHEMICAL WASTE

  • Take small and large amounts of chemical waste and solid chemically contaminated waste, collected in buckets, room 37 for disposal in the chemical waste drum in the outside waste storage room
  • Black and red buckets are available from Simon Bedard or call the Chemical Technician at 416-978-4821
  • Buckets can be reused, but if they become dirty or malodorous, use for true chemical waste or leave in the waste storage room for disposal

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Foam Containers and Pallets

  • All types of polystyrene (resin code #6) used for packaging can be recycled
  • Place packaging in clear bags and set it in your garbage/recycling area for collection by the caretaking staff who will take it to a centralized location for pick up by the recycling staff
  • Please note that any soft foam packaging labeled other than “6” should not be mixed with polystyrene – this can be bagged separately and recycled as plastic
  • Please call Recycling and Waste Management at 416-946-5711 for bags and to arrange a pick up
  • More information is available at www.fs.utoronto.ca/recycle/plastic.htm

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Gas Cylinders

  • When ordering gas cylinders please request that the name of your PI is on the cylinder and on the invoice for identification purposes
  • Gas cylinders are delivered to room 37
  • Contact Simon Bedard to arrange pick up
  • Return empty cylinders to room 37

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Glass, Amber

  • Amber glass contaminated with chemicals should be triple rinsed or deactivated in accordance with the procedures outlined in the chemical’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS), prior to disposal
  • Place clean, triple rinsed amber glass in the green bin located in the loading dock area

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 Glass, Chemically-Contaminated

  • Treat chemically contaminated glass, that cannot be decontaminated, as chemical waste

WHERE TO DISPOSE OF CHEMICALLY CONTAMINATED GLASS

  • Collect the glass in a pail
  • Contact Simon Bedard to discard in the chemical waste drum in the outer storage room

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Glass, Clear

  • Glass contaminated with chemicals should be triple rinsed or deactivated in accordance with the procedures outlined in the chemical’s Material Safety Data Sheet, prior to disposal
  • Place clean, uncoloured glass in the teal coloured toters found on each floor
  • Do not place anything in the toters that poses any biological, chemical or radioactive hazard
  • Toters are located near the elevators

For more information on Non-hazardous Glass click here.

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Gloves

  • Gloves contaminated with hazardous biological material can be autoclaved and placed in the yellow, biohazard Level II pails
  • Gloves contaminated with radioactive material are disposed of in pails supplied by Environmental Protection Services – Radiation – they can be reached at 416-978-2050
  • Chemically-contaminated gloves are placed in sealed containers, such as bottles or bags, and disposed of as solid chemical waste
  • Non-contaminated gloves are garbage

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Mixed Waste

  • Occasionally laboratory waste may contain or be contaminated with a combination or mixture of biological, chemical and radioactive materials
  • This type of waste poses a challenge for disposal
  • Inactivation and disposal will be considered on a case-by-case basis, as required
  • See the Environmental Health & Safety webpage for more information.
  • As a general rule for waste containing combinations of hazardous chemical, radioactive and biological agents, the biological hazard should be inactivated first
  • Steam sterilization is generally not recommended for waste containing combinations of significant quantities of hazardous chemical, radioactive and biological agents. Chemical disinfection should be used

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Pipette Tips

  • Tips contaminated with Bio Level II organisms are autoclaved and put with Bio Level II waste
  • Put radio isotope contaminated tips into the pails supplied by radiation safety protection
  • Put chemically contaminate tips into chemical waste
  • Put clean, disposable pipette tips into the orange toters for recycling
  • DO NOT PUT PIPETTE TIPS DOWN THE DRAIN

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Plastics, Clean

  • Lab ware contaminated with chemicals should be triple rinsed or deactivated in accordance with the procedures outlined in the chemical’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS) prior to disposal
  • Place clean laboratory plastics in the orange-coloured toters
  • Do not place anything in the toters that poses any biological, chemical or radioactive hazard
  • Do not dispose of gloves here
  • WHERE TO FIND TOTERS: Toters are found on each floor near the elevators
  • For more detailed information please visit the following webpages:

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Radioactive Waste

  • Radioactive waste is picked up on Tuesdays
  • Information about waste pickup and waste containers can be obtained by calling Rob Provost of Environmental Protection Services – Hazardous Materials at 416-978-7000 or by email

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Sharps, Biologically-Contaminated

  • According to the principles of universal blood and body fluid precautions, all needles and blades used in medical care, diagnosis, and research, including the manipulation and care of laboratory animals, should be considered potentially infectious
  • Needles and blades pose a risk to those who use them and needle and blade waste may pose a health risk to those involved in its handling, transportation, and disposal
  • If the needle and blade waste is contaminated with or contains viable biological agents, it must be treated to inactivate the biological agents
  • The filled container may be steam sterilized along with other laboratory waste
  • Steam sterilization is generally not recommended for laboratory waste contaminated with or containing a combination or mixture of viable biological agents and significant amounts of hazardous chemical or radioactive materials – these situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis
  • Contact the Hazardous Waste Technicians at 416-946-3473
  • Chemical disinfection of needle and blade waste is generally not recommended since it requires additional handling, increasing the potential risk of injury
  • Put autoclaved sharp containers with other autoclaved biological waste

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Sharps, Chemically-Contaminated

  • Drain all liquids containing hazardous chemicals from disposable syringes and decontaminate all sharps in accordance with the procedures outlined in the chemical’s Material Safety Data Sheet, prior to disposal
  • Environmental Protection Services may be consulted for further chemical deactivation procedures
  • Put sharps into the yellow container
  • Filled containers must be closed by securing the attached cap over the top opening
  • Call the Hazardous Waste Technicians at 416-978-4821 for pickup of containers with chemically contaminated needles and blades

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Sharps, Clean

  • Put hypodermic, surgical, suture, or IV needles, syringes with needles, lancets, scalpels, blades and similiar metallic sharp or pointed items for disposal that are capable of causing punctures, cuts or tears in skin or membrane into yellow sharps containers which can be purchased through Medstores
  • Razor blades and needles used in Biological, Chemical or Radioactive work are collected separately
  • Sterilization, disinfection or decontamination of needle and blade waste may be required prior to disposal
  • Filled containers must be closed by securing the attached cap over the top opening

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 Sharps, Radioactively-Contaminated

  • Needle and blade waste containing trace radioactive materials must be collected in a yellow sharps container
  • All liquids containing radioactive material must be drained from the disposable syringes and collected for appropriate disposal
  • Autoclaving of the sharps may be required if any of the needle and blade waste is contaminated with viable biological agents
  • Needle and blade waste contaminated with significant quantities (any quantity greater than listed for select isotopes in Table 2 Column E of radioactive materials must be disposed as radioactive waste
  • Environmental Health Safety will provide containers for sharps contaminated with significant quantities of radioactive materials
  • Contact Environmental Protection Services at 416-978-2050 prior to starting any work for container drop off
  • The liquids must still be drained from the syringes and must be placed into the provided plastic container
  • Do not overfill or force waste into the container
  • The collected waste must not interfere with the installation of the lid
  • The container must be clearly labelled to indicate that it contains radioactiveneedle and blade waste
  • The activity, isotope, solvent, date and permit number should be indicated on the waste tag
  • The yellow containers will be picked up with other radioactive waste
  • Call Environmental Health & Safety at 416-978-2050 for pick up
  • For more information see webpage

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