Handling and Disposal of Chemical Waste in Day-to-Day Laboratory Work
What is waste?
The German Waste Management and Recycling Act (KrW-/AbfG) defines waste as movable goods that their owners intend to dispose of, or whose proper disposal is essential to safeguard public welfare and protect the environment.
How is waste generated in a laboratory?
The life cycle of a chemical compound at a university begins with the procurement of the necessary compounds from the supply room, a fellow student, or a student in the lab courses.
Compounds are used for synthesis or analysis. Depending on the purpose of the application, contaminated starting materials, byproducts, used solvents, and used chemicals are generated, which must be broken down or disposed of if they cannot be recycled.
In contrast to industrial waste, chemical waste from university laboratories usually consists of small quantities of highly complex mixtures. Collectively, they represent a significant amount of waste that must be disposed of by the university at its own expense.
The proper disposal of laboratory waste—which may vary from one location to another—depends on the type of experiments conducted and the chemicals used.
However, some types of hazardous waste cannot be disposed of in their original form and must first be treated.
With the help of appropriate processes, this waste can be detoxified at the point of generation.
One advantage of detoxification is that it also reduces the risk of contamination by inexperienced personnel handling the waste, or of accidents involving such waste, and thus also prevents environmental contamination.