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How to Prepare and Store your Hazardous Waste

The Chemical Hygiene Plan fully describes "Hazardous Chemical Waste Management" expectation in Chapter 5.

Chemical Hygiene Plan

When to dispose of hazardous chemical waste?

All containers must be disposed of within 90 days no matter how full. 
Frequent disposal will ensure that amounts of waste stored in labs are kept at minimal levels and clear up space in your lab.

You should dispose of your containers when they:

  • when your container is full, (liquids 90% full, sharps 2/3 full)
  • once an experiment or process is completed
  • before it is too heavy to move


Hazardous Waste Pick-up Schedule

UCLA uses the UC system-wide Waste Accumulation Storage Tracking electronically called WASTe. 

You will have 90 day from the time you make the tag to submitted it for disposal to our team.

WASTe Portal 

For information on how to generate a tag visit the following page:

How to generate a WASTe Label 

Labeling steps:
1. Generate Tag label
2. Place label in a clear envelope pouch (you can get some from our team at pick up)
3. Write the date your drop it off  on the outside of clear pouch 

What goes on your label?

  • Lab/ Facility location (dropdown associated with your lab's profile) 
  • Accumulation Start Date- this is the date you plan to start collecting your material
  • Physical State- solid, liquid, or gas. (if your waste has visible liquid select liquid. If you have mixed waste that includes tissues see "Tissue or Specimen in Chemical Fixatives").
  • Container Type- select the container type you use
  • Chemical Constituents- list all the chemicals/material in your container this must equal to 100%. Please be descriptive we need to know the hazard.
  • Hazard Class- select all the hazard class associated with the container
  • Comments- Add any comments we need to know
  • Other ID- this is any ID you may use in your lab to reference

Location:
Designate a location in your lab to store your hazardous chemical waste. This location is considered a Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA) by the EPA. Waste can only be stored for 90 days.

Refrain from storing waste under sinks. Limited quantities of waste can be stored in a fume hood as long as it does not impede functionality. Try to collected/stored your waste near the point of generation. Periodically check location(s) for conditions of waste containers for signs of leaks, corrosion or deterioration.

Maximum total amounts of waste that can be stored in an SAA:

AmountTyPENotes
55 gallonregular hazardous chemical waste submit for disposal within 3 days
1 quartextremely hazardous wastesubmit for disposal within 3 days.
Container > 4Lflammable solventsstore within flammable storage cabinet

The table above outlines the EPA limits associated with waste accumulation at your SAA. Chemical waste amounts also count towards the maximum allowable quantities (MAQs) permitted by California Fire Code (CFC). For more information about MAQs visit our resource page: 

About MAQs

Your Containers Must Be:

  • Free of exterior contamination
  • Labeled with a WASTe tag at all times
  • Chemically compatible with the material of the storage container  (Chemical Resistance Information For Bottles, Containers & Safety Cans)
  • Stored in container size suitable for the material stored, be mindful of the weight of your material don't use containers that are too big  
  • Closed when not in used
  • Never use cardboard


Note: Wastes stored in labware (e.g. test tubes, beakers, and flasks) and sealed with a stopper or parafilm will not be accepted.

What to do with empty chemical containers

All hazardous materials must be managed in a manner that prevents spills and uncontrolled reactions.
Stored chemicals and waste should be segregated by hazard classification. Each hazard class should have a separate secondary container.

Segregate:

  • acids from bases
  • flammables from oxidizers
  • organic acids from inorganic acids
  • oxidizers from organics
  • cyanides from acids

Types of Hazardous Chemical Waste 

Hazardous waste has properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. It can be the by-products of manufacturing processes, discarded used materials, or discarded unused commercial products, such as cleaning fluids (solvents) or pesticides. Some chemicals are classified hazardous once they are used in a laboratory setting. 

If you are not sure emails us for help, hazardousmaterials@ehs.ucla.edu

Not All hazardous wastes are handled equally. 
Listed below are varying types of waste collected by the hazardous waste group. This information is only for waste generated at UCLA.

Cylinders- GasesDry Waste (Solid Chemicals and Dry Bulked Waste)Extremely or Acutely Hazardous ChemicalFluorescent & other lamps (Universal Waste) Laboratory Generated Non-Hazardous Sharps

Metal Powders and Lithium Metal Pouch CellsPaint & Art Supplies (Waste)Picric Acid (Dry) Reactive & Peroxide Forming ChemicalsSharps Contaminated with ChemicalsTissues or Specimens in Chemical FixativesTrace Chemo and Chemotherapy WasteUnknown Chemicals