From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of Samuella Sigmann <00001d2fb4580b5b-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2025 2:43 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] General trash removal from labs

At my institution, teaching lab waste was picked up daily. 

For the research labs, they had to put their can by the inside of the door. We were not so much concerned about the trash as we were about the custodial staff navigating through the lab safely.
Sammye

Pam,

 

I wonder if you have spoken with the custodial operations people at your institution about the expected frequency of trash removal?  Typically, custodial services at academic institutions try to follow and maintain a certain “APPA level” of cleanliness.

 

APPA levels refer to a five-level cleaning and maintenance scoring system developed by the organization APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities. These levels range from Level 1: Orderly Spotlessness to Level 5: Unkempt Neglect, with each level corresponding to a specific standard of cleanliness and a set of defined criteria for tasks like floor care, surface cleaning, and waste removal. 

 

Due to budget and staffing constraints (which translates to limitations on time spent that can be spent on tasks), custodial services can only provide a certain APPA level.  However, they should be able to work with you to identify certain tasks or services that need to be improved (more frequent trash removal in labs in your case), often in exchange for other tasks/services getting less attention.

 

I hope this helps.

 

 

Regards,

Ed

 

Ed Chainani, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Safety
 
The Grainger College of Engineering
College of Engineering Administration

203 Engineering Hall | 1308 W Green St  |  Urbana, IL 61801
217.244.5594 | echaina2**At_Symbol_Here**illinois.edu
https://safety.grainger.illinois.edu/


Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication to or from university employees regarding university business is a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.

 

 

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of Mabrouk, Patricia <000022db23f825f9-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 9:59 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] General trash removal from labs

I hope that it is acceptable for me to post my question here.  I would like to know if there are any regulations related to the removal of general trash from chemistry laboratories in regard to frequency.  We seem to be having challenges institutionally and I would like to approach this issue from a safety standpoint.  Also, does it matter whether we are speaking of a teaching lab or a chemical research lab.

Many thanks,

 

Pam

Patricia Ann Mabrouk, Ph.D., F.A.C.S.,

Associate, ACS Society Committee on Publications,

Editor-in-Chief, Scholarship & Practice of Undergraduate Research

and

Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Northeastern University

360 Huntington Avenue – 430B EXP

Boston, MA 02115

p.mabrouk**At_Symbol_Here**northeastern.edu

(617)373-2845

 

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