What type of material or equipment do you want to get rid of?
University personnel have the following options for getting rid of hazardous materials and potentially contaminated supplies and equipment.
Note: Not all options are available for all items.
Refer to the list below for disposal options based on the item and/or potential hazard(s).
On-site treatment and disposal options may be available.
- On-site chemical treatment procedures must be approved by EH&S; you must have documented training and maintain an updated Chemical Treatment Log.
- On-site sterilization of biohazardous waste using an autoclave must follow the requirements listed on the Biohazardous Waste webpage.
- Use the Chemical Exchange feature in MyChem to recycle unused chemicals.
- Empty gas cylinders can be recycled, depending on the original contents.
- Check the list of accepted items before submitting a request for pickup.
- All potentially-contaminated items must have a Notice of Cleaning and Decontamination Form attached.
- Any equipment containing a radioactive source must by checked by EH&S Radiation Safety prior to pickup by UW Surplus.
Material/Equipment
Please contact UW Facilities Regulated Materials Office at 206.685.3357 or uwrmo@uw.edu to dispose of asbestos-containing materials and equipment, including:
- Autoclaves
- Bunsen burner mats and gauze pads
- Laboratory ovens
- Older furnaces
- Anything that produces high heat
- Fire-proof cabinets
- Fireproof gloves, mitts and sleeves
- Laboratory benchtops
- Laboratory fume hoods lined with transite asbestos cement
Please contact EH&S Building & Fire Safety at 206.685.0341 to dispose of Automated External Defibrillators (AED).
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of batteries, including: industrial, commercial, lithium and rechargeable batteries.
Please contact EH&S Biological Safety at 206.221.7770 or ehsbio@uw.edu to dispose of biohazardous waste.
Please contact EH&S Radiation Safety at 206.543.0463 or radsaf@uw.edu to dispose of biological and radiological mixed waste.
Please contact EH&S Lab Safety at 206.543-9510 or labcheck@uw.edu to dispose of biological safety cabinet.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of capacitors and transformers, including equipment containing: capacitors and transformers may contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and include electron microscopes and x-ray equipment.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of chemical containers (empty), including: safety cans, but not limited to faucet, bench, gas, dip tank, plunger, daub, and oily waste, drums, barrels, totes and containers used for safe storage; lab pack, overpack and salvage
Laboratory glass, plastic and tubing, including bottles, jars, jugs, carboys, flasks, caps, stoppers, droppers, funnels, graduated cylinders, spatulas, rods, tubes, racks, microplates, pipette tips, broken glass, and fragile glass items, such as pasteur pipettes, slides and cover slips
Follow the instructions on the Sharps and Lab Glass Waste page for containers that may be contaminated with biohazards.
Please contact EH&S MyChem at 206.616.4046 or mychem@uw.edu to dispose of chemical exchange (recycling).
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of chemical waste.
Review the Chemical Waste Management section of the UW Laboratory Safety Manual and Request a Waste Evaluation if you are unsure how to dispose of a chemical.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of chemical treatment by generator, including: acid/base neutralization, Cidex OPA treatment, ethidium bromide, formaldehyde, mercuric chloride.
Please contact EH&S Biological Safety at 206.221.7770 or ehsbio@uw.edu to dispose of chemotherapy and hazardous drugs (trace and non-trace).
Please contact EH&S Biological Safety at 206.221.7770 or ehsbio@uw.edu to dispose of exit signs that contain H-3 or other radioactive material.
Check the label to determine whether the sign contains H-3 or other radioactive material.
Please contact EH&S Radiation Safety at 206.543.0467 or ehsbio@uw.edu to dispose of fire extinguishers.
Please contact EH&S Building & Fire Safety at 206.685.0341 to dispose of gas cylinders.
Please contact EH&S Radiation Safety at 206.543.0463 or radsaf@uw.edu to dispose of geiger meters / counters.
Please contact EH&S Biological Safety at 206.221.7770 or ehsbio@uw.edu to dispose of glass, plastic and tubing, including: laboratory items that may be contaminated with biohazards, such as bottles, jars, jugs, carboys, flasks, caps, stoppers, droppers, funnels, graduated cylinders, spatulas, rods, tubes, racks, microplates, pipette tips, broken glass, and fragile glass items, such as pasteur pipettes, slides and cover slips.
Refer to the Empty Chemical Containers Focus Sheet for laboratory items that contained chemicals.
Please contact UW Recycling at recycle@uw.edu to dispose of lead-containing radiation shielding, including: lead bricks, shots, sheets, pigs, lead-lined items, weights, sheeting, foil, and metallic lead that has been painted, encapsulated or covered.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of lead-containing radiation shielding, including: lead aprons and other lead-containing shielding that is defective and/or contaminated with radioactive materials.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of mercury-containing instruments, including: temperature or pressure measurement devices, coulter counters, silver-tipped thermometers/thermostats.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of oil, including: motor oil and all other oils from laboratories and small equipment.
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)-contaminated equipment, including: some oil-filled electrical equipment, transformers, fluorescent light ballasts, and some building materials.
Please contact EH&S Building & Fire Safety at 206.685.0341 to dispose of pressurized containers/vessels.
Please contact EH&S Radiation Safety at 206.543.0467 or radsaf@uw.edu to dispose of radiological waste.
Please contact EH&S Radiation Safety at 206.543.0467 or radsaf@uw.edu to dispose of smoke detectors containing americium 241 or other radioactive material.
Check the label to determine whether the smoke detector contains americium 241 or other radioactive material.
Please contact EH&S Biological Safety at 206.221.7770 or ehsbio@uw.edu to dispose of sharps and needles, including: syringes with and without needles, lancets, scalpel blades, razor blades.
Please contact UW Surplus at 206.685.1573 or surplus@uw.edu to dispose of surplus equipment.
Potentially-contaminated equipment must have a Notice of Cleaning and Decontamination Form attached.
Includes anaerobic chambers, balances or scales, benchtop instruments (refractometers, spectrophotometers), biological safety cabinets, centrifuges, circulators and chillers, cryostats, dead tanks, dryers and freeze dryers, environmental chambers, evaporators, flammables cabinets, freezers, fume hoods, furnaces, gas cylinder holders, glassware, glove boxes, homogenizers and grinders, hoods, incubators, magnetic stirrers and hot plates, meters (pH meters, voltmeters), microfuges, microscopes, mixers, PCR chambers, pipettors, refrigerators, rotators, shakers, sinks, storage cabinets and lockers (used to store chemicals or hazardous waste), vibrators and sonicators, water baths
Any equipment containing a radioactive source must by checked by EH&S Radiation Safety (206.543.0467, radsaf@uw.edu) prior to being surplused. Refer to the Preparing Radiation Items for Surplus guidelines.
Includes, but not limited to any item with a radioactive sticker, gas chromatographs, lasers, scintillation counters, x-ray equipment
Please contact EH&S Environmental Programs at 206.616.5835 or chmwaste@uw.edu to dispose of x-ray film and x-ray plates.