Policy on Hazardous Waste Disposal

The University of Newcastle has formal policies, procedures and operational controls to manage hazardous waste safely and responsibly across its campuses, buildings, laboratories and research activities.

Managing hazardous materials in University buildings

KRA 3.3: Asbestos and Hazardous Materials Management provides the University-wide framework for identifying, assessing, controlling, removing and documenting hazardous building materials, including asbestos-containing materials, lead paint, synthetic mineral fibres, polychlorinated biphenyls and ozone-depleting substances.

The KRA 3.3 guideline applies to University staff, students, visitors, contractors, Council members, controlled entities and University activities on and off campus.

Where hazardous material must be removed, the University requires suitably qualified, competent and licensed contractors. Waste generated during this work, including contaminated protective equipment and cleaning materials, is managed as asbestos or hazardous-material waste in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Version 2 of KRA 3.3 was issued in October 2023 following a full review for legal compliance and an expansion of the procedure to cover hazardous materials more broadly.

Keeping track of hazardous materials

The University maintains hazardous-material registers for buildings at Callaghan, Newcastle City and the Central Coast, recording known or presumed materials such as asbestos, lead-based paint and synthetic mineral fibres.

Public hazardous-material registers and management information for all three campus groups were updated on 4 June 2025. The registers support planning for maintenance, refurbishment, demolition and emergency response by identifying where hazardous materials may be present.

Before work is undertaken in an affected area, contractors must be briefed on the relevant register information and use appropriate licences, procedures and equipment. Monitoring and clearance processes are required where hazardous materials are disturbed or removed.

These controls help ensure that hazardous building materials are contained, removed and disposed of through regulated pathways rather than entering general waste streams or the surrounding environment.

Chemical and laboratory waste

The University also manages hazardous chemical waste through its Chemical Management Procedure and laboratory safety systems.

Under the Chemical Management Procedure, disposal must comply with statutory guidelines and University licence requirements, disposal methods must be considered in risk assessments, and hazardous chemical waste may only be disposed of using licensed contractors. Disposal to drains is minimised and must comply with University licences and guidelines.

Chemical waste is collected through a scheduled University service. Waste must be appropriately packaged, labelled, safely stored and segregated where required, with spill trays used to reduce the risk of leaks or spills.

The standard chemical-waste collection does not accept explosive waste, infectious waste or radioactive material. These waste types are directed to separate specialist controls and disposal pathways through the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Team.

Biological and radioactive waste

For biological waste, the University publishes specific biological waste disposal requirements. Material requiring decontamination is placed in suitable labelled containment, transported using double containment and autoclaved before disposal, while other biohazard waste is placed in designated clinical-waste bins according to its risk category.

The University's laboratory chemical-waste guidance also identifies separate controls for radioactive waste. Radioactive material is excluded from routine chemical-waste collection, and material that has decayed below the specified threshold requires an isotopic waste declaration before it can enter the chemical-waste collection process.

These policies and procedures provide separate disposal pathways for hazardous building materials, chemicals, biological waste and radioactive material, helping protect people, campus environments and surrounding ecosystems.