Antibiotics (in cell and bacterial cultures)

Emissions of antibiotics risk contaminating the ecosystem, since Swedish treatment plants lack an effective treatment process for antibiotics and drug residues. To avoid contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance, liquids containing antibiotics must not be poured into drains.

Antibiotics in powder form and large quantities of antibiotic-containing solutions must be disposed of as chemical waste and collected in yellow plastic boxes. Solutions must be labelled “antibiotic-containing solution”. No hazard symbols are required.

Some antibiotics degrade quickly and can be poured down the sink. Examples of such antibiotics are penicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin and chloramphenicol.

Other antibiotics must be destroyed by autoclaving or boiling, and can then be poured out. Examples of such antibiotics are gentamicin, neomycin, streptomycin, geneticin, Fungizone/amphotericin, erythromycin and tetracycline.

Some antibiotics are not broken down during autoclaving or have unknown properties, and can be disposed of in small quantities as combustible waste. Some examples are kanamycin, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, zeomycin and zeocin.

Material such as cell culture medium containing antibiotics where the living cells have not been killed, or which could contain infectious material, should be disposed of as “Sharps waste” (yellow boxes).