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Hazardous Waste

What is a hazardous waste?

• Unwanted, expired or waste chemicals and experiment/testing residues from lab operations
• Spent solvents, paints, pigments, etching acids, photo and x-ray developing and fixing solutions
• Any discarded, abandoned or unwanted material that exhibits a hazardous characteristic or is listed as a hazardous waste in the regulations

To dispose of your hazardous waste you must first take the CS055: Hazardous Waste Handling & Packing training course. This will allow you to complete the on-line Hazardous Waste Manifest which is required before your waste can be picked up by EH&S Support Facility staff.

If you have any questions regarding hazardous waste disposal, contact the EH&S Support Facility at 934-3797.

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Medical (Biohazardous) Waste

New Account Setup for Medical (Biohazardous) Waste Pickup
To establish Medical Waste pickup for your site, fill out the Stericycle New Account form and send the completed form to Kamilah Frison at kfrison@uab.edu. Once you have your account, you will receive a Stericycle welcome kit with barcodes and the amount of TB01s (gray bins) that you request. Stericycle New Account Form

To ensure your waste is removed please review all steps to having your medical waste picked up (proper packing, labelling, etc). Please make sure your laboratory follows these practices, otherwise medical waste will not be picked up until your lab is compliant. EH&S personnel encourage you to print this out to hang where your medical waste is staged and to go over it with those working in your laboratory.

Additionally, for UAB to remain compliant with DOT regulations, only biohazard bags that meet ASTM-D Standards are to be used for the disposal and transport of biohazardous waste.

DOT Definitions
DOT defines regulated medical waste, aka clinical waste, or bio medical waste as:

• Waste or reusable material derived from the medical treatment or biomedical research of an animal or human,
• Hazardous Materials Regulation 49 CFR173.134 Class 6, Division 6.2 Infectious substance:
  • Assigned proper name – Regulated Medical Waste n.o.s.
  • Assigned identification number – UN 3291

To dispose of your medical (biohazardous) waste you must first take BIO301L_Medical Waste Management for Labs. This will allow you to sign the Medical (biohazardous) Waste Manifest when it is picked up by Stericycle.

Pre-Signed Manifest for Waste Pickup
Because lab personnel are not always available to sign when Stericycle comes to remove medical (biohazardous) waste, an option to prepare a pre-signed manifest has been provided. Please follow the instructions on page one, and find the manifest form on page two : Manifest Instructions and Form. It is important to follow the instructions exactly and that EH&S receives a copy.

If you have any questions regarding medical (biohazardous) waste disposal, contact Laura Caltrider at 205-934-1515 or parkelk@uab.edu.

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Municipal Solid Waste

• Regular garbage (food, packaging, etc..)
  • Placed in trash cans and dumpsters around campus. Goes to local MSW landfills
• Plastic, cardboard, white paper, aluminum cans
  • Placed in special recycling containers around campus or taken directly to the UAB Recycling Center. Material is sorted and compressed and sent to a local recycling center.

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Petroleum Waste

• Used Oil
  • Sent to a recycler where it is blended as a fuel for use in industrial furnaces. Sometimes it can be re-refined back into lubrication oil.
• Kitchen Grease
  • Sent to commercial facility for recycling into livestock feed or biodiesel

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Radioactive Waste

What is radioactive waste?

• Low-level waste includes items that have become contaminated with radioactive material or have become radioactive through exposure to neutron radiation. This waste typically consists of contaminated protective shoe covers and clothing, paper, plastic bags, cardboard, wiping rags, mops, filters, reactor water treatment residues, equipment and tools, luminous dials, medical tubes, swabs, injection needles, and syringes. See the U.S. NRC website.

To dispose of your radioactive waste you must first successfully complete the RS102: Radiation Safety Initial Training Sessions and the associated practicum and CS055: Hazardous Waste Handling & Packing training course. This will allow you to complete the on-line Radioactive Waste Manifest which is required before your waste can be processed and picked up by EH&S Support Facility staff.

If you need any more information regarding Radioactive materials waste regulation please refer to the UAB Radiation Safety Procedures Manual.

If you have any questions regarding hazardous waste disposal, contact the EH&S Support Facility at 934-3797.

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Universal Waste

Universal waste is a subset of hazardous waste that is generated in large quantities on UAB campus and follows different management regulations. Universal waste on UAB campus includes:

1. Used fluorescent lamps
2. Used Batteries; Lithium, NiCad and lead acid containing batteries
3. Ballasts

Containers of universal waste must be stored in a secure area and must be labeled properly. Check course CS056 Handling, Storing, Packing, and Manifesting Universal Waste for more information on the proper management and handling of universal waste. This will allow you to complete the online Universal Waste Manifest, which is required before your waste can be processed and picked up by EH&S Support Facility staff.

An outside contractor, AERC, picks up universal waste on UAB campus. To schedule a waste pick up call EH&S Support Facility at 934-3797.