What are Some Strategies to Reduce the Amount and/or Toxicity of Chemical Waste Generated in the Laboratory?
All laboratories that use chemicals inevitably produce chemical waste that must be properly disposed of. It is crucial to minimize both the toxicity and the amount of chemical waste that is generated. A waste management and reduction policy that conforms to State and local regulations should be established by the school or school district. Several things that can be done to minimize hazards, waste generation, and control costs: • Purchase chemicals in the smallest quantity needed. • Use safer chemical substitutes/alternatives such as chemicals which have been determined to be less harmful or toxic (Table 1 contains examples). • Use microscale experiments. • Chemical experiments using smaller quantities of chemicals Recycle chemicals by performing cyclic experiments where one product of a reaction becomes the starting material of the following experiment. • Consider detoxification or waste neutralization steps. • Use interactive teaching software and demonstration videos in lieu of expe
