Biological waste, non-infectious
Plant material
Plant material is disposed of as combustible waste. Genetically modified plants and plant material requires special processing and must be approved by the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
Animal material
Biological waste includes carcasses of laboratory animals, biological tissue, blood and other body fluids in small quantities. Such material is defined as animal by-products, which means animal material that is not intended for use as food and has not been processed or treated to derive products”. Parts of slaughtered animals that are not intended for use as food are also classified as animal by-products, as well as feathers, eggshells and wool. More information about animal by-products is available on the Swedish Board of Agriculture's website.
Exception - Dissected animals, e.g. fish, which were purchased from a grocery store can be disposed of as combustible waste, since such animals are classified as food until they are dissected.
Biological waste can be stored for a maximum of 24 hours at room temperature, in a refrigerator for a maximum of 4 days, and in a freezer for longer periods.
Biological waste must be placed in a black plastic bag, together with absorbent material if necessary, and placed in a freezer. All bags must be marked with details of their content and the relevant contact person. Large amounts of material should be placed in two individually sealed plastic bags. Before being dispatched, the material must be packed in plastic boxes (30 litres) with their associated lids, which should be labelled “Biological waste”. To order plastic boxes, labels, transport and destruction, see your school/division's internal documents and the university's procured waste management company.
Human material
Blood - Small amounts of human blood or other human fluids which are not considered infectious must be disposed of as combustible waste, but must always be packaged and transported in such a way as to prevent spills and leakages.
Large amounts of human body fluids must be disposed of as infectious waste.
Please note that human blood and/or other body fluids containing or suspected of containing contaminated blood must be disposed of as infectious waste.
Human tissue – The management of waste from tissue, organs, identifiable body parts and discarded anatomical preparations is regulated in the National Board of Health and Welfare’s General advice (SOSFS 2001:8) on precautions when handling and labelling biological waste which could cause a hazard to human health according to the Environmental Code.
Otherwise, human biological waste should be handled, packaged and stored in the same way as animal material (see above).
Nails and hair do not count as biological human waste.
Cell cultures, microorganisms (non-infectious)
Live cell cultures and microorganisms must not be poured directly into sinks. If the waste is considered to contain infectious material or GMMs, refer to the information in the relevant sections. As a rule, after the waste has been inactivated, it can be poured into a sink. However, there may be other risks associated with the waste to take into account, such as antibiotics or other chemicals, radioactivity, or the presence of sharps (see respective section).
One of the following methods must be used to inactivate cell cultures, culture mediums and non-GMO, non-infectious microorganisms: Autoclaving; Chemical (e.g. chlorine) or other treatments (e.g. boiling) which have been found to be effective against the agent in question; Incineration. After being inactivated, solid material is packed and disposed of by incineration.