Disposal of Broken Glass Waste Boxes

Wear Cut resistant gloves E.g., Leather Gloves, when handling Broken Glass Disposal Boxes.

Glass boxes: Filled Broken Glass Disposal Boxes must be placed inside the Chevron dumpster by the researcher.  Tape the bottom and the top of the full box securely.  Take the full box to your building’s dumpster.  Purchase a replacement box, then tape the bottom to keep it from falling apart if your lab floor gets wet.  Broken Glass Boxes will NOT be removed by the custodians.
According to EH&S Guideline Number: 03-018    4. Disposal Preparation
Once the broken glass box is ¾ full, follow the manufacturer’s closing instructions and seal the top with tape.  Then, the broken glass box can be disposed in the regular trash.

Here is a link to the full document regarding broken glass disposal.  https://www.ehs.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/docs/03-018LabGlassDisposal.pdf

Ask Chemistry staff E.g., in the stockroom if you are unsure where the dumpster is.  We would be glad to help.

Broken Glass Disposal Boxes are available to purchase from the DSS Stockroom and Scientific Suppliers E.g., ThermoFisher Scientific.

UPDATE July 2017 per Chemistry Facilities Coordinator

Dear All,

Since the new trash disposal system was installed on the Chevron dock last week, researchers will once again be responsible for the disposal of their broken glass boxes.  Please open the door to the waste receptacle and place the glass box inside the container and close the door.

Thank you,

mb

MBC July 5, 2017.

More information from 2011

There has been some confusion recently over who is responsible (custodians or lab personnel) for getting rid of filled glass waste boxes.  In an attempt to answer this question, I contacted  numerous people in Facilities Management and unfortunately,  got conflicting answers from them as well.  Late Friday afternoon, I was able to finally able to talk with the Custodial Manager for the entire Campus about this issue. He informed me that custodians are no longer permitted to remove filled glass waste boxes from the labs.  He implemented this change about 18 months ago after a custodian suffered  a deep puncture wound to his hand while removing a glass waste box. We subsequently learned that this injury was caused by an improperly-discarded syringe that someone had placed in a glass waste box, but to avoid an possible future injuries to his staff, the custodians have since been forbidden to remove glass waste boxes.  Accordingly, the procedure for getting rid of glass waste boxes is as follows:

  1. FILLED GLASS WASTE BOXES SHOULD BE SECURELY CLOSED WITH EITHER PACKAGING TAPE OR DUCT TAPE BEFORE BEING THROWN AWAY.
  2. PER FM CUSTODIAL SERVICES, GLASS WASTE BOXES MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE LABS BY THE RESEARCHERS, NOT THE CUSTODIAL STAFF.
  3. PER EH&S, FILLED GLASS WASTE BOXES ARE CONSIDERED “REGULAR TRASH”  (NOT “HAZARDOUS/CHEMICAL WASTE”) AND SHOULD BE THROWN DIRECTLY INTO THE COMPACTOR ON THE CHEVRON DOCK.  IN EBERLY HALL, GLASS WASTE BOXES MAY BE PLACED DIRECTLY IN THE DUMPSTER ON THE EBERLY LOADING DOCK.

I hope this clears up any confusion.  I further expect that this topic will be addressed during our upcoming Safety Seminars as well.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions regarding disposal of glass waste boxes.

 

KGM 5 April 2011