I use a lot of your 15ml polystyrene tubes and your 50ml polypropylene for rat cell culture. After washing, are they able to be thrown in the recycling waste?
All laboratories which manipulate potentially hazardous biological agents and materials, and generate waste containing such agents are responsible for the separation, packaging and treatment of their laboratory waste prior to its removal and disposal.
Greiner Bio One as supplier of disposable plastic ware cannot indicate the appropiate waste disposable the latter beeing dependent on the respective customer application and country-specific regulations. All Greiner plastic disposables are for single use only and cannot be recycled.
Please find below universal recommendations for biological waste disposal:
Biological waste includes:
- liquids such as used cell culturing media, supernatant, blood or blood fractions (serum), etc., which contain viable biological agents;
- materials considered pathological, including any part of the human body, tissues and bodily fluids, but excluding fluids, extracted teeth, hair, nail clippings and the like that are not infectious;
- 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, wrappers, 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 should be considered potentially infectious;
- laboratory glassware which is known or suspected to be contaminated with hazardous biological agents.
In addition to the general packaging requirements specific requirements for biological waste must be followed:
a) Liquids containing Biohazardous Agents- Collect liquids in leak-proof containers such as flasks or bottles.
- Liquid waste containers designed to withstand autoclaving temperatures must be used when steam sterilization is utilized. To allow pressure equalization, they should not be sealed.
b) Solids Containing Biohazardous Agents
- Non-sharp, solid laboratory waste (empty plastic cell culture flasks and petri dishes, empty plastic tubes, gloves, wrappers, absorbent tissues, etc.) which may be, or is known to be, contaminated with viable biological agents should be collected in autoclavable bags.
c)Sterilization and Disinfection
- Autoclaving (steam sterilization) is the preferred (and generally regarded as the most reliable) method of sterilizing biological waste. Depending on the volume of waste to be sterilized, it may be necessary to extend the duration of exposure to high temperature steam under pressure.
- Steam sterilization is generally not recommended for laboratory waste contaminated with or containing a combination of viable biological agents and significant amounts of hazardous chemical or radioactive materials.
- Containers of liquid waste must be placed into an autoclavable tray or pan of sufficient capacity to contain all liquid in the event of vessel failure or breakage inside the autoclave chamber. Use extreme caution when handling autoclaved liquids since they are hot and may boil over.
- Autoclavable bags of solid waste should be closed but not sealed airtight to allow steam penetration before they are placed into the autoclave chamber.