Cardboard & Styrofoam in the Labs

Wet Labs

No cardboard (or other porous materials like cloth or Styrofoam) is allowed to be sitting directly on the floor of a lab in case of a spill. If you must store it on the floor or under a bench, raise it 2-3 inches from the floor, or place in a secondary container that will protect if from spreading liquid.

When disposing of cardboard, please break it down and place it either in a blue cardboard recycling bin (if it's small) or in a black V-shaped metal rack (if it's too large).

BSL-2 Labs ONLY

Absolutely no porous materials---Styrofoam, cardboard, etc.---may be in labs where BSL-2 work is being done (ie. TC rooms and any BSL-2 private labs). If you need to have cardboard or Styrofoam within a BSL-2 lab, it must be within a sealed plastic container. Since these porous materials cannot be decontaminated, it must be kept away from all biohazardous materials to avoid contamination. In general, you should plan to dispose of your cardboard and Styrofoam before bringing something into a BSL-2 space. If you'd like to rent a grey bin to transport items to and from the TC rooms, please reach out to the LabOps team.

Listed below are some products that could be used to keep cardboard away from spills. The first would be suitable for a BSL-1 lab ONLY, and the second item (the latching storage box) would be necessary for a BSL-2 lab. We do not endorse or recommend any specific products, these are just examples.