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Responsible lab waste management

Manage your lab waste safely, efficiently and with minimal environmental impacts.

Reducing and reusing equipment and consumables is vital in reducing the environmental impact of research. When waste is produced, efforts should be made to ensure that it is not sent to general waste, and is reused and recycled where possible and safe to do so.

Good lab waste management practices can:

  • ensure the safety of all lab users
  • reduce negative environmental impacts
  • save money

Managing lab waste at Bath

Disposing of waste creates financial and environmental costs.

Uncontaminated recyclable waste costs the least to process, and clinical waste the most. Putting waste in a costlier category has a negative cost impact, while putting waste in a cheaper category can create environmental, safety and legal risks.

Waste stream Disposal cost
Paper recycling £4.43 per 240 litre bin
Uncontaminated glass recycling £4.43 per 240 litre bin
Contaminated glass recycling £2.95 per kilogram
Uncontaminated plastic and cans recycling £8.17 per 1,100 litre bin
Food waste recycling £8.09 per 140 litre bin
Wood recycling £40 per tonne
General waste (incinerated for energy production) £107 per tonne
Non-halogenated solvent  disposal £1.00 per 2.5 litres
Halogenated solvent disposal  £6.52 per 2.5 litres
Sharps  disposal £6.92 per 5 litre bin
Average processing cost per hazardous waste collection  £600

Prioritise your actions

It's helpful to refer to the waste reduction hierarchy to help guide your actions on tackling waste from your lab:

  1. waste prevention
  2. reuse and repair
  3. recycle
  4. recover
  5. dispose

The most significant action you can take is to reduce the amount of resources needed to conduct your research, including lab equipment and consumables. The following guidance will help you get started:

A researcher holding a box of research equipment ready to be recycled

General recycling and waste disposal on campus

Much of the waste produced from research and related office activities can be recycled on campus. The University has guidance on waste and recycling general practice:

All lab users should clearly understand requirements related to waste and recycling. This can be achieved with:

  • covering good waste management in your lab inductions
  • installing clear signage on all bins to identify what it is to be used for - labels for general waste and recycling bins can be requested by emailing leaf@bath.ac.uk
  • providing relevant information and guidance to users on lab-specific processes

Hazardous waste

Read the hazardous waste management policy to make sure you know what kind of waste is defined as 'hazardous', who has responsibility for it, and how it should be stored and removed.

You must manage hazardous waste with care and dispose of it responsibly. Familiarise yourself with the University procedures related to safely managing hazardous waste:

Arrange a hazardous waste collection

Contact us

If you have any questions about how to manage your lab waste, please get in touch.