Reducing laboratory biohazardous waste generation through waste receptacle intervention

Introduction Research laboratories generate millions of tons of biohazardous waste annually. Academic biohazardous waste is handled through third-party vendor, typically requiring out-of-state transport and energy-intensive decontamination. These processes are costly to the environment and the institution. We hypothesized much of the waste being handled as biohazardous was uncontaminated, yet placed into the biohazardous waste stream out of convenience and unclear waste segregation training. Methods A 9-month educational campaign involving emails, signage, and educational meetings was staged on a shared research floor with an estimated 100 investigators. After 9-months, baseline waste production in a shared tissue culture room was measured for four weeks (baseline). Measurement included bin weight, bin number (full bins), and photo audit. Following baseline, we introduced an intervention for four-weeks, reducing and relocating biohazardous waste bins, and adding recycling adjacent to common workspaces. After the intervention, we ceased communication regarding waste segregation and observed any changes for four weeks (post-intervention period). Biohazardous bins were photo audited, weighed, and counted during each step of the study. Results The nine-month educational campaign significantly reduced the number of full biohazardous bins across the research floor. The intervention reduced biohazardous waste generation by 48% during the intervention, with a 52% sustained reduction during the post-intervention phase, both p < 0.03. Discussion Biohazardous waste reductions during and post-intervention were larger in magnitude than those obtained during the prior nine-month educational campaign, demonstrating proper waste stream segregation through an intervention to the physical environment was more effective than education alone. These simple, readily scalable, low-cost adjustments save money and reduce the environmental burden of laboratory waste, thereby reducing the health damages associated with biological research.