Sharp waste

Sharp waste disposal

Guidance on how to dispose of sharp waste at the University of Toronto. This includes broken glassware, pointed plastic, razor blades, syringes with needles and other items that can cause cuts or puncture injuries.

Contents

— What is sharp waste?

— Needles, scalpels and blades guidelines

— Glassware and sharp plasticware guidelines

— Get support

What is sharp waste?

Sharp waste refers to any items with sharp or pointed edges that may cause cuts or punctures. In these procedures, sharp waste is subdivided into two categories:

  1. Needles, scalpels and blades
  2. Glassware and sharp plasticware

Labs must collect, package and treat sharp waste prior to disposal. Packaging rules and requirements differ for both subdivisions of sharp waste.

Needles, scalpels and blades guidelines

Common examples:

  • Hypodermic, surgical, suture and IV needles
  • Lancets, scalpels and razor blades
  • Other sharp/pointed metallic instruments that can cause punctures/cuts/tears in skin membranes

Collection containers:

  • Must use approved autoclavable, yellow plastic containers that comply with CSA Z316.695 standards
  • U of T approved containers are available from the U of T MedStore, located in the Medical Sciences Building
  • Sharps containers procured from outside of U of T must be yellow in colour and CSA standard compliant  
  • If unsure about sharp container compliance, submit a sample to the EHS Biosafety Office for review 
  • Empty chemical bottles (for example, bleach containers) are not acceptable for the collection and disposal of needles, scalpels or blades
  • EPS does not supply sharps containers to labs on campus

Handling rules:

  • Do not overfill or force items inside a sharps container
  • Do not recap, bend, break or manipulate needles by hand
  • Never place loose needles/scalpels/blades directly into any pail or any garbage container for disposal

Contamination considerations:

  • Needles/scalpels/blades contaminated with biological agents and/or trace amounts of chemicals/radioactive materials can be collected in a single container
  • All liquids must be drained from syringes and collected for appropriate disposal
  • Biological contamination:
    • Treat via autoclave where applicable
    • U of T approved sharps containers can be steam sterilized
  • Chemical contamination:
    • Drain liquids from syringes and collect for chemical waste disposal
    • Contact the Environmental Protection Services team if materials are significantly contaminated with hazardous chemicals as deactivation may be necessary
  • Radioactive contamination:
    • Drain liquids from syringes and collect for radioactive waste disposal
    • Review the table on the Radioactive Waste Disposal page (Aqueous Washes, Column E) for radioisotope contamination limits for the needles/scalpels/blades
    • If contamination levels are above these limits, the needles/scalpels/blades must be disposed of as radioactive waste
    • Contact the Environmental Protection Services team for guidance

Labeling, storage and disposal:

  • No extra labels required on most containers as they depict biohazard warnings and fill limits
  • Seal container tightly using the attached cap
  • Needle/scalpel/blade waste containers will be collected during regular scheduled lab biowaste collection
  • Place your needles/scalpel/blade waste containers with your other biowaste for collection
  • Contact the Environmental Protection Services team if your lab is not regularly serviced by EPS or if you generate radioactive contaminated needles/scalpels/blades

Glassware and sharp plasticware guidelines

Common examples:

  • Lab glass (intact or broken): flasks, beakers, bottles, test tubes, ampoules, pipettes, slides/cover slips
  • Lab plastic (intact or broken): pipettes, micropipette tips, anything that will puncture a bag

Non-hazardous lab glass and plastic:

Packaging rules:

  • Do not recycle laboratory glassware/plasticware in general recycling bins
  • Do not overfill coloured toters for laboratory glassware/plasticware otherwise they will not be removed for disposal
  • Large, clean glassware that will not fit into a coloured toter may be placed in cardboard boxes, tapes shut and labeled “GLASS FOR DISPOSAL – CAUTION”
  • Place with other general waste for collection by building service workers

Contamination considerations:

  • Biological contamination:
    • Place materials inside yellow biowaste pails for disposal
    • Glass and sharp plasticware must be drained of liquid
    • Pail lid or pain liner must be labelled with the lab’s building name, room number and bio-certificate number
    • Refer to Biological Waste Disposal for more information
  • Chemical contamination (decontamination possible): triple rinse and recycle
    • Follow procedures for non-hazardous lab glass and plastic
    • Rinse water may need to be collected for chemical waste disposal
    • Original labels should be removed or defaced from materials
    • Empty containers can also be reused in some cases to package lab generated chemical waste
  • Chemical contamination (decontamination not possible): solid chemical waste disposal
  • Radioactive contamination: radioactive solid/liquid waste disposal

Get support

If you have questions, contact the Environmental Protection Services team.

Please reference the Laboratory Hazardous Waste Manual (Sharp Waste Management) for more information regarding sharp waste procedures.

Learn more about the non-hazardous laboratory glass and plastic recycling program.