Australia's Science Forum

Hi everyone,
Just wondering how every one deals with the glassware that gets broken in the labs.
Do you have broken glass bins in each lab? Do the students clean up the broken glass or is this the responsibility of the teacher?
We had a girl cut herself putting some glass in the broken glass bin so interested to know what you do.
Helen

We have a bin just for broken glass, it is stored in each prep room. The teacher or myself clean up after an accident. As the students just throw it in the normal bin, which is unfair to the cleaner.

Our broken glass bins, get taken out once a they are about 3/4 full.

Do this help

We also have a bin for broken glass in each prep room.

Our cleaners requested that no broken glass be put in the bins in the labs as a safety precaution, and we have labels on the bins telling students not to put glass in them. Like Sue, the teacher or I clean up the broken glass.

Alice

As i dont have many calssrooms- i have a large bin in my room with all the correct labelling so the cleaners dont empty.The teachers (bless them) clean up any breaks and bring it into my room so i can keep track of what is broken - there is no book here to record breakages ,the teachers (bless them) do not htink it is necessary for them to fill out

Mind you it all gets put in the rubbish bin out the back of the school (shrug)

Thanks for that info. everyone.
We have special bins for broken glass but the teachers get the kids to sweep up the glass which is how the accident happened.
As we have labs in 3 different areas I can't be there to pick up the pieces in all areas so will have to suggest the teachers do the clean up job in future.
Our broken glass bins get emptied into the rubbish skips as we only have paper recycling but at least the glass doesn't go into the bin the cleaners have to empty.

Helen

Our teachers usually help the kids clean up the mess. We have a bucket in each lab to put the broken bits in and every now and then I round them up and empty them into the skip.
I haven't looked all that closely into it, but is the type of glassware we use recyclable? It's not the same as your average vegemite jar.

Julie

Hi I would not think, that laboratory glassware would be recyclable. We too have a bin in pre rooms just for broken glass. I tape up the bin(large icecream container with lid) and place it in the skip when full.

I queried the recylable issue with our local tip and the answer was No, so now I box it up at the end of the term, seal it well and it goes in the dumpster.

Students here clean up the breakages in labs. Thanks for this post though, quite topical. Yesterday we had 2 potentially dangerous incidents - an 'unknown' broken high louvre, with some of the glass missing (that worried me), and a window over an outside door broken by a high-bouncy ball, with tiny bits of glass scattered across the quad. Half filled my prep room glass bin in one day - just as well I'd just emptied it the day before!

I hadn't thought about the glass not being able to be recycled.
I won't feel so guilty now when I put it in the skip bin.
Helen