Over the last few months we have added new resources to our website aimed at facilitating the proper management of the special waste we generate in the laboratories and workshops of the University of Barcelona. In this note we summarise them so that you have them closer to you and can share them with the people who join the laboratory.
The starting point is the procedure for the management of special laboratory wasteThis document describes the steps to follow to identify and classify the waste, to choose the right bin to dispose of it, the label to identify it, how to pack it, how to transport it to the landfill (if the centre has one), and how to request the collection of waste and replacement material (if there is no landfill).
In order to reinforce the documentation you will find there, we have prepared in collaboration with the Audiovisuals Unit a video explaining how the management procedure works. The video is available in both Catalan abd Spanish, with subtitles in Catalan and English.
Although the special waste stores have labels that laboratory staff can take in self-service format, if necessary they can be printed out at the laboratory itself from the labels page of the OSSMA website. We also have informative posters on laboratory waste management, which deal with basic concepts, waste classification, biological waste management, and how to make good use of medical waste containers.
One of the most common questions when managing laboratory waste is how to classify it. Although the management procedure details the classification groups, and each laboratory knows in which group the products it works with most often belong, in many cases the identification of the group is not so easy. In order to facilitate this task, we have at our disposal the laboratory waste finder, a tool available on the OSSMA website which, by indicating the name or CAS number of the product, returns the classification group, the label to be used and the type of drum in which the waste is to be disposed of.
The university community can also access, via the Virtual Campus, a training course on waste management, which covers both basic concepts of waste management and the UB’s waste management procedure. This course is recommended for anyone who works in a laboratory or workshop, if you are interested in you can obtain the self-enrolment code in the Forma’t section of the OSSMA website..
Given that much laboratory waste is toxic and/or hazardous, as well as ensuring that we follow the appropriate steps to reduce its environmental impact, it is necessary to apply occupational risk prevention measures. In the section Inform you of the OSSMA website you can find documentation of interest to work safely in the laboratory, such as the Laboratory Safety Rules.
In case of doubt about any aspect related to the management of laboratory waste, in addition to the resources that we have collected in this note, remember that you can contact us by email.