There is a rigorous and defined method for disposing of chemicals via Cornell's EHS. We are a part of Cornell and have to abide by their institution-level rules and the federal rules placed on them as a business.
Disposal How To
Before disposing of any chemical the figure out whether it is normal waste, R5 waste, oil/gas waste, or hazardous waste.
- Normal Waste: Things like paper towels (not soiled with chemicals)
- R5 Waste: Recyclable waste collected separately by EHS (LiPo batteries, some oils). Contact them for help
- Oil/Gas waste: These haveave their own disposal room currently in Rhodes, talk to project team director to get access
- Hazardous waste: The majority of chemicals we use in composites! Basically anything with a warning label
If you are dealing with hazardous waste you must follow the below
- If the waste is a solvent (eg. isopropyl or acetone) you can triple rinse the container with water and throw it in the regular trash without a lid on
- Triple washing means filling the container all the way up to the top with water and dumping it in the waste disposal drum 3 times
- If the waste is not a solvent it must be disposed of via the methods in this training. If you have not completed this yet, you must before continuing on.
- Ensure the container seals completely. If it does not you must request an overwrap container from the project team director.
- Find the MSDS or SDS for the chemical
- Fill out one of the green EHS slips found under the sink for hazardous waste pickup. They must be filled out properly and use general chemical names, not marketing/brand names
- They can be found here
- They look like this (with this basic info)
- They can be found here
- Pull the top and bottom of the slip off of the backing. Attach BOTH of these stickers to the chemical container.
- Place the chemical container into an appropriate cardboard shipping box down the hallway leading to Rhodes. If there are no boxes or they are all full please reach out to the project team director!