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How Hazardous Waste and Heavy Metals Should Be Disposed Of In Melbourne

  • Written by News Co Media


Wearing gloves, a lab coat, eye protection, long trousers, and closed-toe shoes, you must treat the heavy atomic compounds this way. You can also wear gloves to look at the containers as well. Take off the gloves, or get someone to open the doors for you if you have to touch doorknobs when handling heavy metals. They go to the hazardous waste, not the garbage when you take the gloves off. Right?

But have you ever wondered how to dispose of them completely so that they would not harm anyone? Well, the straight answer to this is to find skip bins and let them dispose of the hazardous as well as metal waste.

But, don't you wish to know how they do it? As chemicals or heavy metals are very risky to handle. Therefore, in this writing, you will be knowing how hazardous waste and heavy metals should be disposed of typically in Melbourne, and why there is an excessive need for skip hire in Melbourne for the disposal of waste.

Procedure For Disposing Of Hazardous Waste In Melbourne:

The following are the most repeatedly seen hazardous wastes in Melbourne, and how they take notes of disposing of these in an efficient way.

  1. Organic Solvents:

It is not necessary to discharge organic solvents down the drain. it is prohibited to introduce organic solvents into the sewer system. This applies to all organic solvents, including acetone and ethanol, whether flammable or non-flammable, mixable or non-miscible with water.

Organic solvents must be placed in suitable containers where there is no risk of escaping from vapors or liquid. The organic solvents wastes are more likely to be seen in Melbourne for which the need for skip bin hire becomes certain. Skip bins should be tightly capped, marked with red tags for dangerous waste, and disposed of as hazardous waste.

Compatible and combined mixtures of organic solvents in one container must be identified with an estimated proportion of the fractions or percentages of each solvent in the mixture.


  1. Mercury:

Before disposal, mercury must be removed from the lab apparatus and placed in jars or bottles. In a jar or other screw-top container, broken mercury thermometers must be placed. In order to establish that mercury vapors are not present, mercury spills should be checked by the EHS. Then dumping into the skip bins make sure they are tightly packed.


  1. Solids:

Inorganic and organic solids must be disposed of as hazardous waste in their initial containers - in the appropriate skip bins, that are designated as waste because they are dirty, aged, or of doubtful purity. Heavily contaminated solid waste, such as paper towels, gloves, spill pillows, etc. (no broken glass) should be secured and sealed with duct tape in a durable plastic tub or double bagged in clear poly laboratory bags (not ordinary garbage bags).


  1. Gas Cylinders:

BOC gases should be returned to the gas cylinders. Non-returnable bottles for lectures should be avoided. For the disposal of non-returnable cylinders, departments/laboratory groups would be financially liable.


What Cannot Be Poured Down The Drain?

Hazardous wastes of either form or concentration cannot be poured down to the drain. Through the daily hazardous waste pickup process of the organization, these wastes must be disposed of quickly therefore, there is a need for hiring the skip bin in Melbourne;

  1. Mercury and mercury-containing compounds

  2. Pesticides

  3. Oils, fats, greases, or wax

  4. Heavy metals (note that spent photo fixer contains silver)

  5. Organic compounds

  6. Certain inorganic compounds

  7. Solutions with a pH below 2 or above 12 (please note that neutralization steps may be built into the experiment to facilitate drain disposal)


Procedure For Disposing Of Heavy Metal In Melbourne:


Crystallization plates of heavy metals. If the heavy metals on crystallization plates are on coverslips, put the coverslips in 50 ml conical centrifuge tubes in the Falcon style (lead and mercury separate). Take the bridges out and place them in zip-lock plastic bags if the heavy metals are in MicroBridges (lead and mercury separate).

Because of the bulk, the disposal of an entire crystallization plate containing heavy metal in the wells is simple and fast, but costly. If at the time of disposal, a heavy metal tray has already dried out, it counts as "dry waste" then place it in a zip-lock container, close the bag, then double-bag. After the packaging, keep them in bins safely to avoid any mishap.

Special Handling Of Heavy Metal:

Stored in a sealed package are mildly volatile mercury compounds such as methyl mercuric chloride. Open the box in the hood and handle as much as possible with these compounds in the hood. That implies crossing the hallway holding a mercurial package that is unopened but potentially externally contaminated. Two people, one working the doorknobs without gloves, do this most quickly. Via vacuum grease, methyl mercuric chloride leaks, so do not inhale adjacent to the soaking container.

The heavy metal requires sensitive handling therefore if you are not aware of handling these things in Melbourne with perfection the best option is to hire a skip bin.

To Summarize:

In Melbourne or in any area it is best to hire skip bin experts because disposing of hazardous or heavy metals is not safe to pour down the drain or handle without any supervision.