Lab pack waste refers to any type of waste composed of hazardous materials or like waste that may hold hazardous properties. This waste can include a wide range of materials, liquid, gas, or solid, that can pose a threat to human health and the environment if not handled properly. The use of the lab pack has proven to be an effective means for companies, organizations, and institutions that generate hazardous waste materials to safely remove, transport, and dispose of these materials. Above all, lab packing helps them remain compliant with federal, state, and local regulations for the proper disposal of hazardous waste.
Laboratories, hospitals and medical centers, manufacturers, warehouses, and educational institutions generate a significant amount of hazardous waste each year in small amounts that must be properly managed. Generators may unintentionally accumulate numerous smaller containers of hazardous waste—varying types of chemicals, solvents, reagents, solutions, and so forth, that may go unused or expired. By law, these hazardous materials cannot be permanently stored onsite. Generators have between 90 and 180 days, depending on their generator status, to remove the hazardous material.
Correctly discarding these materials, however, can be challenging, costly, and time-consuming. Lab packs are a cost-effective way and approved method that helps to ensure safe transportation and disposal of the material. For any industry or organization generating hazardous waste, fully understanding a lab pack, the benefits of lab packing, and the type of materials that can be transported, is essential to remaining compliant.
What Is a Lab Pack?
A lab pack is a specially designed drum-shaped container that can be filled with many other small containers of hazardous waste packed in non-biodegradable absorbent materials. The purpose of a lab pack is to consolidate and manage these materials in a manner that minimizes the risk of spills, leaks, and exposure to personnel and the environment. A container typically holds approximately 55 gallons of waste. Once the smaller containers of waste are placed within the lab pack, they are carefully sorted and cushioned with inert packing material that ensures compliance and allows for the safe transport and disposal of the waste.
Lab packing allows businesses, organizations, and institutions to safely collect, store, and transport smaller containers of hazardous waste materials generated by them. These materials can include chemicals, solvents, acids, aerosols, bases, and other potentially harmful substances.
Lab packing is a procedure used to categorize, inventory, package, and dispose of small amounts of hazardous materials, chemicals, and laboratory waste. It not only offers organizations a convenient and cost-effective option for transporting hazardous materials off-site but allows for the safe transportation and disposal of these materials while adhering to Department of Transportation regulations. Lab packing also streamlines the disposal process by packaging multiple small containers of waste into a single drum. This allows hazardous waste management companies to better prepare the hazardous materials and substances for proper disposal and also ensures that organizations meet regulatory requirements for shipping the materials.
What Type of Hazardous Materials Should Be Transported in Lab Packs?
Lab packs are designed to transport small quantities of various hazardous materials found at or generated by laboratories, businesses, pharmaceutical companies, schools, universities, medical facilities, hospitals, or maintenance departments as a byproduct of industry.
Materials that should be disposed of in lab packs include chemicals, acids, bases, and reagents; aerosols, compressed gases, and organic peroxides, oxidizers and solvents; medical waste and cleaning and disinfecting agents; toxic, flammable, corrosive, pyrophoric or explosive materials; and inks, dyes, paints, paint thinners and varnish strippers; radioactive materials and reactive materials from metals, mixed and universal waste, and even unknown or unlabeled waste.
Following regulatory requirements as well as safety, it’s important to properly identify and segregate these hazardous materials to ensure they are packed properly and to prevent any incompatible materials from coming into contact with each other, which could lead to dangerous reactions.
Contact the Lab Pack Professionals at Maine Labpack
Lab pack waste services provide businesses, organizations, and institutions with a safe and effective way to dispose of these hazardous materials. Maine Labpack is one of New England’s leading providers of hazardous waste management services, offering sustainable waste management solutions to customers throughout the region since 1997. If you have questions or need more information about lab packing, reach out to Maine Labpack today.