Hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludges. They include commercial products, such as cleaning fluids or pesticides, and some by-products of manufacturing processes.[1] Hazardous waste should not be dumped into a landfill like other waste. It needs to be disposed of responsibly to prevent hazards to human and environmental health.

Management of Unwanted/Expired Controlled Substances

Controlled substances that are expired or are no longer of use to your research must be disposed of through a reverse distributor.

Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) has made arrangements with reverse distributors to ensure that unwanted/expired controlled substances are securely transported and completely destroyed in compliance with EPA and DEA disposal requirements.

Chemical Waste Disposal

When a material has no further use and has been declared a waste by the user, it must be clearly labeled as a waste. The proper disposal of waste chemicals at the University of Pittsburgh is a must to meet our stewardship and regulatory compliance requirements. The responsibility for the identification and handling of hazardous waste within the University rests with the individual(s) who have created the waste (generators). The Department of Environmental Health and Safety is available to provide technical guidance, assistance, and information.

Biological Waste Disposal

All biological, infectious, and chemotherapeutic waste that is generated at the University of Pittsburgh must be disinfected and disposed of properly. No infectious wastes are permitted to leave the premises or control of the Principal Investigator without first being disinfected or sterilized to ensure that they present no harm to others or the environment

Disposal Of Electronic Equipment

Electronic Waste is unwanted computers, monitors, televisions, audio equipment, printers, laptops, fax machines, telephones, and other electronic equipment.

When electronic equipment breaks or becomes obsolete, it must be properly disposed or recycled. This electronic equipment may contain heavy metals and other materials that can become hazardous to human health and the environment, including:

• Lead: Computer monitors and televisions contain a cathode ray tube (CRT). CRTs contain leaded glass and are the largest source of lead, a poisonous metal, in municipal waste.
• Mercury: Some electronic equipment contains recoverable quantities of mercury, another poisonous metal.
• Cadmium: Rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries are the largest source of cadmium in municipal waste.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) currently classifies discarded electronic equipment that contains these hazardous materials as characteristic hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Responsible disposal of hazardous materials isn’t just the domain of heavy manufacturing. Professional offices, too, must pay attention to disposal of janitorial supplies, building materials, and e-waste, which can harm human and environmental health.

Improper hazardous waste disposal can harm the health of employees and local residents, as well as animals and plant life. It can contaminate soil and the local water supply and pollute the air. It can lead to a decrease in property value and expose your business to fines and/or lawsuits.

Getting Started

1. Step One: Reduce hazardous waste production.
2. Step Two: Sign up for local hazardous waste collection.
3. Step Three: Dispose of waste in the trash, not in the sink, toilet, or storm drain.

Step One: Reduce hazardous waste production.

Before figuring out how to properly dispose of hazardous waste, see if you can make less of it. Try to think, “How do I prevent hazardous waste?” instead of “How do I get rid of it?”

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services offers the following tips to help businesses reduce hazardous waste production:

1. Substitute hazardous materials with non-hazardous materials.
2. Rethink your manufacturing or operating practices. Is there a less harmful way to produce your product or service?
3. Train employees in proper manufacturing and handling processes.
4. Improve existing equipment.
5. Replace old equipment with more efficient equipment.
6. Segregate waste to avoid cross-contamination.[2]

Recycling and donating can also help you reduce hazardous waste. Consider if another company could use your hazardous materials before you toss them. This might include paint, pesticides, and cleaning products. This may not work in some cases– no company would have use for radioactive sludge, for instance– but see if recycling and donating will work for your business.  If someone else can use the hazardous materials, then they won’t go to waste.

Step Two: Sign up for hazardous collection.

If you’ve tried to reduce waste production but still have hazardous waste, see if your town, city, or county offers hazardous waste collection. Collection will make waste disposal easier for you and ensure that your business follows disposal regulations.

Step Three: Dispose of waste in the trash.

Proper disposal of hazardous waste depends on the type of waste. For example, liquid hazardous waste is often disposed of in underground injection wells. Solid hazardous waste goes to places like landfills, waste piles, and land treatment units.

However, some general rules apply to hazardous waste disposal:

1. Dispose of hazardous waste in the trash rather than dumping it on the ground, in the toilet, or down the drain.
2. In certain states and counties, it is illegal to throw e-waste (e.g., old laptops, monitor, computer towers) in the trash.

For more specific disposal advice, visit this link on the EPA website to identify what types of hazardous waste your company produces. Then you can navigate to the federal disposal regulations that apply to you. Also see this user-friendly reference list for more help.

Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution.

Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs, contain potentially harmful components such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants. Recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities in developed countries and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaking of materials such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.

“Electronic waste” or “E-Waste” may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets, and refrigerators. This includes used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal. Others are re-usables (working and repairable electronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic, etc.) to be “commodities”, and reserve the term “waste” for residue or material which is dumped by the buyer rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and recycling operations, because loads of surplus electronics are frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and non-recyclable), several public policy advocates apply the term “e-waste” broadly to all surplus electronics. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are considered one of the hardest types to recycle.

By: Rommel M. Magcalas