The use of lab packs allows hazardous waste management facilities, such as Environmental Marketing Service to dispose of dangerous materials more efficiently. Depending on your industry, lab-pack management includes disposal processes which include incineration, recycling, neutralization, or stabilization. Certain types of lab pack disposal methods can also include fuel blending. 

Lab-Pack Management

Many educational institutions, medical centers, warehouses, and laboratories produce an excess amount of hazardous waste. Properly disposing of hazardous materials can be costly, challenging, and time-consuming, however, it is necessary and required to protect public health and safety. Lab-packs are the efficient and cost-effective process for your organization to decommission your hazardous waste safely. 

Environmental Marketing Service understands the complex nature of lab-pack management. This process is an effective method to dispose of your facility’s outdated and excess chemicals. Disposing of and properly managing chemicals is not only a regulatory requirement, but also a commitment to the environment.

Environmental Marketing Service follows strict guidelines set forth by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the DOT (Department of Transportation.) Talk to an experienced staff member to learn about our comprehensive management solutions for your facility’s lab-pack management.

What is a Lab-Pack?

A lab-pack is a sturdy container used to ship smaller containers of hazardous waste. The smaller containers are placed inside the larger, sturdy container, which is typically a 55-gallon drum. The smaller containers are carefully padded and sorted in the drum with an inert material so they can be transported safely.

Industries, especially laboratories that generate chemical waste find lab-packing a cost-effective option for disposing of their hazardous chemicals off-site. When handled properly by professionals such as Environmental Marketing Service, lab-packing gives your facility peace of mind knowing expired or unused chemicals have been disposed of according to strict regulations. Lab-packing is also an effective and efficient process to protect your employees from potential hazards and dispose of unwanted materials.

The large lab-pack container (drum) is filled with various smaller-quantity containers containing chemicals similar to each other, such as oxidizers, flammables, or acids. When the lab pack is received at the hazardous waste facility, such as Environmental Marketing Service, it will be further consolidated for the best possible course of disposal. 

Lab-Pack Management Materials

Materials that are allowed to be transported for disposal in lab-packing include:

• Mixed wastes
• Organic peroxides
• Universal wastes
• Reagents, bases, and acids
• Solvents
• Oxidizers
• Chemical reagents
• Varnish strippers, paint thinners, dyes, inks, and paint
• Disinfecting and cleaning agents
• Compressed gases and aerosols
• Explosive, pyrophoric, corrosive, toxic, or flammable materials
• Unlabeled or unknown containers
• Talk to the experts at Environmental Marketing Service to learn if your materials can be used in lab-packing

There are different hazard classes under federal guidelines. These guidelines require specific packing groups and shipping names to be used when packing certain chemicals together. Because lab-packing can be a highly dangerous process, trained individuals should oversee the packing process. Environmental Marketing Service has over ninety years of combined experience in this industry. We provide unique, unparalleled expertise in lab-pack management. 

Benefits of Lab-Pack Management

The benefits of lab-pack disposal provide your facility with the option of disposing of unused and unwanted chemical materials collectively in a large container rather than disposing of each one individually. Using the services provided by Environmental Marketing Service prevents the risk of costly errors, such as the use of incompatible containers or mischaracterization of chemicals.  

Another benefit of lab-packing includes the reduction of risks to nearby employees or others. The outer case, or drum used to hold the smaller containers is padded with non-reactive material for safe disposal of chemicals and other materials. This packing is done for the safety and health of everyone on-site and in the local area. 

Even small amounts of hazardous materials can be dangerous for those who come in contact with them and for the environment. These dangerous materials can damage local wildlife, destroy ecosystems, or wipe out plants. Safe disposal methods are necessary to prevent an environment from becoming deadly and inhospitable. 

Improperly disposing of hazardous waste can indirectly pose health risks as they have the potential to release toxins into the environment. Untreated chemical waste placed in landfills can contaminate ground, surface, and drinking water sources. Hazardous waste treated with chemical disinfectants can also pose a risk when chemical substances enter an environment.

Who Can Use Lab-Pack Management?

Several industries use unstable chemicals in their production methods, education, or training. Many industries work with hazardous chemicals, and laboratories often have forgotten, leftover, or unused substances. These materials need to be disposed of properly, safely, and legally. Lab-packs are the best option for disposing of dangerous bulk waste. 

Manufacturing

Almost any manufacturing sector generates hazardous waste that needs proper disposal. Manufacturing companies typically use substances that are flammable or a combination of chemicals that result in hazardous waste. When this waste builds up, lab-packing is an efficient and cost-effective method to safely dispose of the materials.

Medical Institutions

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities generate various hazardous waste materials. These materials include chemicals and sharp objects. Materials can also include syringes and disinfectants and pharmaceutical waste such as expired drugs. Lab-pack management allows for these medical facilities to dispose of large quantities of hazardous materials safely, and cost-effectively. 

Educational Institutions

The educational sector, from high school chemistry labs to research laboratories at universities all use flammable, toxic, poisonous, or corrosive chemicals for in-class demonstrations. When the semester or school year ends, excess and unused chemicals must be properly disposed of.

Lab-packing is the safest process for schools to dispose of hazardous wastes. Lab-pack management is a fully compliant and convenient method for removing hundreds of different lab chemicals at one time.

Dry Cleaners

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has extensive guidelines for dry cleaners to comply with to reduce the amount of hazardous waste they generate. Dry cleaners are one of the top generators of hazardous waste because of the different cleaning agents they use.

Dry Cleaners can benefit from lab-pack management to dispose of solvents, such as PERC, which is extremely harmful. These facilities also generate other hazardous wastes, including cooked powder residue, spent filter cartridges, and solvent distillation residue that can all be disposed of in lab packs. 

Automobile Industry

Maintaining vehicles requires the use of various chemicals that result in hazardous waste. Spent coolants, plating, flammable liquids, and drums of oily rags are some of the materials used in the automobile industry. Lab packing these hazardous wastes can provide those in the industry with a safe and effective method of disposing of these materials. 

In conclusion, lab packing helps many facilities dispose of unused chemicals that are not allowed to be discarded through normal disposal methods due to the dangers they pose to human life and the environment. 

Who to Contact for Lab-Pack Management

Environmental Marketing Service provides research laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and others with lab-packing services tailored to your needs. We also provide high-hazard chemical management, sampling and analysis, radioactive waste management, and much more. 

Following the DOT (Department of Transportation) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) strict guidelines we will:

• Conduct an inventory assessment to review your chemical inventory
• Provide chemical identification and segregate the materials into compatible groups
• Safely pack materials using the highest standards set by regulatory bodies
• Conduct on-site audits to identify unlabeled and unknown chemical containers

Contact Environmental Marketing Service and learn more about our extensive knowledge and services involved with the disposal of hazardous wastes.