Bel-Art Biohazard Disposal Bags

Biohazard bags exist to carry infectious waste to an autoclave and survive the trip. That is a narrower specification than it sounds: the bag has to hold up at 121 °C under steam pressure, stay intact while being handled hot, and be unmistakable to everyone who sees it.

Printed or unprinted

A printed bag carries the biohazard symbol and warning text. It is what regulation and common sense require for waste leaving a laboratory, because the person who picks it up will not otherwise know what is in it.

An unprinted bag is for the step before that: a liner inside a container that is itself labelled, or waste that is being autoclaved and then discarded as ordinary refuse. Using an unprinted bag where a printed one belongs is a compliance finding waiting to happen.

Autoclaving

Fill to about two-thirds and leave the bag loosely closed, never sealed. Steam has to reach the contents, and a tightly tied bag traps an air pocket that never gets to temperature — the load comes out looking processed and is not.

Polypropylene bags soften considerably when hot. Support the bottom when lifting one out of an autoclave and let it cool before moving it any distance.

Sizes

The range runs from small bench bags to full waste-container liners. Choose by the container the bag will line rather than by the volume of waste: a bag that has to be stretched over a rim tears at the rim.