Biological waste

When producing chemical or biological waste, one needs to comply with a wide range of laws and ordinances regulating the elimination of potentially hazardous products: genetically-modified or infectious organisms must be inactivated, chemically-treated solution must be sorted out, antibiotics can’t be released in the environment if they are not inactivated, etc.

Remember: Always separate liquid waste from solid waste.

The waste contaminated with biosafety level 1 (BLS 1) organisms has to be separated depending on whether it is solid or liquid, whether it is contaminated with genetically modified organisms (GMO), whether it can rupture the waste plastic bag and whether it is a sharp or a pointy object.   

The “management of P1 contaminated waste (not infectious)” chart can be downloaded here.

Solid waste has to be inactivated by autoclave treatment in house.

Serological pipettes and filtered tips do not have to be directly discarded inside the plastic waste bag because they may rupture it. They have to be packaged or collected in a rigid container that will be then trashed inside the autoclavable plastic waste bag.

The “Treatment  and elimination of biological liquid waste at EPFL” chart can be downloaded here.

The “Treatment  and elimination of biological liquid waste in the SV faculty” chart can be downloaded here.

Any questions? Contact us.