Department of Biological Sciences,

1000 Hilltop Circle

Baltimore, MD 21250

General Laboratory Procedures, Equipment Use, and Safety Considerations 

III. Disposal of Buffers and Chemicals

1. Any uncontaminated, solidified agar or agarose should be discarded in the trash, not in the sink, and the bottles rinsed well.
2. Any media that becomes contaminated should be promptly autoclaved before discarding it. Petri dishes and other biological waste should be discarded in Biohazard containers which will be autoclaved prior to disposal.
3. Organic reagents, e.g. phenol, should be used in a fume hood and all organic waste should be disposed of in a labeled container, not in the trash or the sink.
4. Ethidium bromide is a mutagenic substance that should be treated before disposal and should be handled only with gloves. Ethidium bromide should be disposed of in a labeled container.
5. Dirty glassware should be rinsed, all traces of agar or other substance that will not come clean in a dishwasher should be removed, all labels should be removed (if possible), and the glassware should be placed in the dirty dish bin. Bottle caps, stir bars and spatulas should not be placed in the bins but should be washed with hot soapy water, rinsed well with hot water, and rinsed three times with distilled water.

This Web page is maintained by Julie B. Wolf, UMBC;
Last updated on 3/2/2010