Waste Disposal Guidance
An alphabetical list highlighting the procedures and guidelines for the accumulation, storage and disposal of specific hazardous waste at UC San Diego.
Aerosols
Properly dispose of aerosol cans.
Animal carcasses
Asbestos and lead
Important: Only EH&S Environmental Management Facility (EMF) personnel are authorized to sign hazardous waste manifests for removal or disposal of asbestos or lead-containing materials from UC San Diego facilities.
Learn more:
- Asbestos Action Plan for UC San Diego Project Managers
- Lead-Based Paint Action Plan for UC San Diego Project Managers
Contact ehsasbestos@ucsd.edu if you have questions about asbestos or lead-containing materials disposal.
Batteries
Biohazardous and medical waste
Read Biohazardous and Medical Waste Overview for UC San Diego policy and procedures.
- Animal Carcass Disposal Pathway (PDF)
- Biohazardous Waste Disposal Guidelines poster (PDF)
- Autoclaves
- How to:
Chemical waste
Important – Learn about the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). GHS-compliant labels that include a harmonized signal word, pictogram, and hazard and precaution statements for each hazard class and category will begin to appear in our chemical inventories soon.
- Hazardous chemical waste
- Storage and disposal
- Controlled Substances storage | disposal
- Hazardous and Extremely Hazardous Chemical Waste
- Empty Hazardous Materials Containers
- Photo and X-ray Processor Waste
- Piranha solution and other pressure generating wastes
- Sharps
- Waste tags
- Donate usable chemicals
- ChemCycle, chemical reuse program
Controlled substances
While controlled substances (CS) are not "hazardous" waste, disposal of CS is strictly regulated by federal law.
- See How to Dispose of Controlled Substances for instructions.
Note: See Pharmaceuticals Disposal if you need to dispose of a non-CS pharmaceutical.
Drain disposal
Do not dispose of personal waste pharmaceuticals (medications) down the drain or down the toilet. This includes any prescription or nonprescription substances intended to be swallowed, inhaled, injected, applied to the skin or eyes, or otherwise absorbed.
- See Pharmaceutical Drug Waste for more information and disposal options for California residents.
Empty research containers
Extremely hazardous chemical waste
Household hazardous waste
- Household hazardous waste
- Medications and prescription drugs
- Medication Waste Disposal, State of California
- Proper Disposal of Residential Pharmaceuticals, County of San Diego
- Sharps (personal medical self-injection devices and lancets):
- City of San Diego - Disposal of Home-Generated Sharps (Needles, Syringes and Lancets)
- County of San Diego - Safe Disposal of Home Sharps
Latex paint
Over-the-counter medicines
Disposing of over-the-counter medicine (OTC) is easy. Many community-based pharmacy “take-back” programs offer the best option; otherwise, almost all OTC medicines can be disposed of in the household trash. Consumers should take precautions, however, by reading the label to ensure OTC medicines can be disposed of in the trash. Follow these guidelines:
Note: Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals and studies show exposure to even low levels of drugs has negative effects on fish and other aquatic species, and also may negatively affect human health. Households are advised to not dispose of waste medication down the drain or down the toilet. This includes any prescription or nonprescription substances intended to be swallowed, inhaled, injected, applied to the skin or eyes, or otherwise absorbed.
Pharmaceuticals
Note: For personal medications, see Household Hazardous Waste Medication Waste Disposal, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
Plastic tissue culture pipettes
Radioactive waste
Recycling
- Recycling UC San Diego-generated materials
- Chemcycle – for usable surplus chemicals
- How to Recycle at UC San Diego
- Recycling your own stuff
- https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov – Information about recycling consumer electronic waste
Refrigerators and freezers
All unwanted UC San Diego refrigerators, mini-fridges and freezers are picked up and recycled through Surplus Sales.
Research Locations
Unwanted refrigerators and freezers from research labs and shops will need to have the following steps completed for the removal of your item:
- Follow instructions for properly defrosting a research freezer, if applicable.
- Get a Decontamination Clearance from EH&S before disposing of electronics and appliances that may have come in contact with hazardous chemical, biological, or radioactive materials.
- If you need help with decontamination, contact an EH&S Research Assistance Program Specialist.
- Review How to Send Material and Equipment to Surplus Sales to create a Surplus Sales Transfer Request.
Non-Research Locations
Refrigerators and freezers that are not located in a research or shop area and did not contain hazardous materials can be sent for recycling by following the instructions on How to Send Material and Equipment to Surplus Sales to create a Surplus Sales Transfer Request.
For more information, contact the EH&S Environmental Management Facility, (858) 534-2753.
Scrap metal
Sharps
For UC San Diego-generated sharps:
For personal medical self-injection devices and lancets, see:
- City of San Diego - Disposal of Home-Generated Sharps (Needles, Syringes and Lancets)
- County of San Diego - Safe Disposal of Home Sharps
Storage time limits
Hazard waste has a maximum accumulation duration. See Storage Time Limits for Waste for specific details and days of accumulation.