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Environmental Health & Safety

Hazardous Materials Disposal Guide

NON-HAZARDOUS WASTES - RECYCLING - TREATMENT

Last update 9/4/07

NON-HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS

  • EH&S must perform an official hazardous waste determination for disposal of all chemicals
  • Collect solids in disposable, non-leaking containers, labeled with contents, clearly marked as non-hazardous, and prepared for disposal
  • EH&S will accept and dispose any well-identified non-hazardous waste; it can alternatively be placed in the campus garbage collection system
  • Solutions containing only non-hazardous, water miscible liquid materials, pH between 6 and 9, can be disposed through the sewer system
  • Remember: "hazardous" includes flammable liquids even if water soluble
  • Corvallis wastewater disposal guidelines

The items listed below are considered NON hazardous:

  • Acetates: Ca, K, Na, K, Mg, NH4
  • Naturally occurring amino acids & salts
  • Citric acid and salts of Na, K, Mg, NH4, Ca
  • Bicarbonates: Na, K
  • Borates: Na, K, Mg, Ca
  • Bromides: Na, K, NH4
  • Carbonates: Na, K, Mg, Ca, NH4
  • Chlorides: Na, K, Mg, Ca, NH4
  • Lactic acid and salts of Na, K, Mg, NH4, Ca
  • Sugars and sugar alcohols
  • Starch
  • Iodides: Na, K, Ca
  • Oxides: B, Mg, Ca, Al, Si, Fe, Zn
  • Phosphates: Na, K, Mg, Ca, NH4
  • Silicates: Na, K, Mg, Ca
  • Sulfates: Na, K, Mg, Ca, NH4

CHEMICAL RECYCLING

  • Possible if material is in unopened containers or partially used original containers and of high quality
  • Materials are available to interested parties at OSU. Be careful not to obliterate any parts of labels
  • Chemicals and chemical products should not be given or sold to the general public or offered as surplus property
  • Commercial chemical products may be offered as surplus property if reasonable cautions are followed

TREATMENT

  • Elementary neutralization can be performed on wastes which are hazardous only because they are corrosive (acids, bases)
  • A neutralized solution should have a final pH value between 6 and 9. Corrosive waste should not be discharged through the sewer system
  • EH&S may be able to provide generators with appropriate neutralization materials
  • Treatment of other materials to lessen the hazard or amount of a waste can be included as part of standard operating procedures in laboratories
  • Such procedures should be written and made a part of specific experimental protocol