Answer by labsupport on question Answer by ritasteffe on question waste chemical disposal
Answer reviewed 3 March 2023
All schools have a responsibility to dispose of their chemical waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. In NSW the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) administers the management of chemical waste.1
Sydney Water’s acceptance standards for waste water generated by their industrial customers is available from their website.2
There are a number of licensed waste contractors that are able to service western Sydney. Schools should obtain quotes from several different providers to compare costs and service provided. The cost of disposal can possibly be lowered if several schools in your area arrange to have their waste chemicals collected by the same company on the same day. Some companies may allow the transport fee to be negotiated.
Before engaging a contractor, we suggest you review the chemicals you have for disposal to consider whether any of the waste material can be used in another process or treated safely in-house for re-use, recycling or disposal to the sewer. This may minimise the amount of chemicals required for collection and hence reduce the cost of disposal.
The SDS sheet for individual chemicals should be consulted for appropriate disposal methods. As far as possible, schools should aim to minimise the quantities of chemical waste produced. Chemical waste should be disposed of by a licenced waste contractor, see the Science ASSIST list of School science suppliers for contact details.3
The cost of disposal is determined by weight and chemical class with the addition of a transport fee, EPA levy and GST. Contractors generally require the chemical waste to be in secure containers with compliant labels and incompatible wastes segregated. They may have their own template for a manifest of chemicals for disposal which usually includes:
- the name of each chemical (proper shipping name);
- the UN number, dangerous goods class and sub risk, if applicable, packaging group;
- size (volume) of the actual container;
- type of container (e.g., glass, plastic, metal) plus the actual volume of chemical in each of the containers;
- number (quantity) of containers;
- total quantity (kg or L);
- any unknown chemicals should be labelled as unknown.
The manifest can be emailed to the contractor to obtain a quote. Whilst waiting for pick up, store and segregate incompatible waste chemicals safely in approved storerooms or chemical storage cabinets. Schools must check with their own authorities regarding regulations in their area.
The Water Corporation of WA provides advice regarding laboratory chemical waste.4 Whilst some of the advice is specific for WA, the guidance article contains some good information regarding chemicals of major concern, waste avoidance and waste minimisation, as well as some best management practices.4
Our Chemical Management Handbook also provides guidance on treating and disposing of individual chemical waste.5
References
1 Environment Protection Authority, NSW, Regulating Chemicals in NSW, EPA website, http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/pesticides/chemicalmgt.htm (Accessed March 2023)
2 Sydney Water, Our Acceptance Standards, Sydney Water website, https://www.sydneywater.com.au/your-business/managing-trade-wastewater/industrial-trade-wastewater.html (Accessed March 2023)
3 Science ASSIST, 2020, School Science Suppliers, Science ASSIST website, https://assist.asta.edu.au/resource/664/school-science-suppliers?search-id=e51d14f
4 Water Corporation WA, 2023, Advice article: Laboratory Chemical Waste, Water Corporation website, Laboratory chemical waste (watercorporation.com.au)
5 Science ASSIST, 2018, Chemical Management Handbook for Australian Schools – Edition 3, Science ASSIST website, https://assist.asta.edu.au/resource/4193/chemical-management-handbook-australian-schools-edition-3
A word of caution - we organised a chemical pickup from one of the above companies and despite providing a very detailed list including type of packaging we had a massive blowout of around $1000 as a lot of the chemicals were in glass containers. The price is based on gross weights which means the glass is also viewed as contaminated waste and charged accordingly. Had I known this I could have combined a lot of the waste or repacked in plastic to keep costs down.