Laboratory Waste Management

The Province requires a vendor to provide Waste management services (including specified supplies) for the following laboratories: • A CL1 laboratory; • A CL2 laboratory which consists of: o A microbiology laboratory; o A molecular biology laboratory; o A histology/chemistry laboratory; and • A CL3 laboratory. The Laboratories are in the O.S. Longman Building, 6909-116 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T6H 4P2. The Laboratories are involved in a wide variety of surveillance, research programs, and projects. These activities generate a large variety of Waste. The Waste produced in the Laboratories includes the following biomedical and laboratory waste materials: i) paper towels, pipette tips, pipettes, microfuge tubes, DNA/RNA, electrophoresis gels, ethidium bromide, bacterial culture tubes, petri dishes, plastic panels (Sensititre®), biochemical pathogen identification and detection kits, glass stained slides, loops, applicator sticks, wooden skewers, Q-tips, sample swabs, transport media, biological indicators, DNA extraction reagents, tweezers, weight boats, reagent bottles, microplates, full sharps container boxes; ii) personal protective equipment such as gloves, disposable gowns, foot covers, respirator cartridges; iii) sample disposal including small amounts of animal tissue; specimen containers containing animal tissues, gauze, fecal samples, cecal samples, and animal waste products; whirlpak bags containing straw and chicken bedding materials; cardboard boxes containing dead day old birds, milk, meats and vegetables sent for analysis; solids tubes with agar and plates; iv) cultures of CL2 organisms, including the growth medium used to propagate such organisms; v) liquids – enrichment broths in whirl pak tags, tubes, vials (may be up to 4L per test); vi) biological materials containing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), including but not limited to prion proteins in bovine spongiform encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease, and scrapie; vii) autoclaved Risk Group 3 Pathogens; and viii) general laboratory waste. All Waste that is required to be transported and incinerated should be considered to be contaminated with Risk Group 2 Pathogens and Class 6.2, Category B exempt and non-exempt specimens as described in the TDG Act