Sodium bicarbonate (CAS 144-55-8): storage and disposal

A school prep room tends to keep this near the shelf of everyday salts, often in a tub that has served as a demonstration supply for years. A dry, closed, labelled tub is all it needs, kept apart from food grade supplies so it is never mistaken for baking stock. Date it on arrival and write the full name, because it looks like sodium carbonate and several other white powders. In a pharmacy, infusion strength preparations stay in their original packs with the batch and expiry details readable, and should not share a container with the bulk powder.

A tub that has been left open or stored in a damp corner gets clumps first. Damp turns the powder into hard lumps, and a crust may appear at the rim. Otherwise this substance gives few visible signs, so a normal looking tub can still be old. The label and the date matter more: scruffy handwriting on a decanted jar is the usual failure. Pharmacy preparations show their age differently, through an expired date, cloudiness in a solution or a damaged pack. Unlabelled white powder should be recorded as unknown and left in its container.

By specialist collection only. It never goes down the drain or into general waste. It is normally packed in a non-regulated or low hazard laboratory pack with compatible chemicals.

Say what each container is: laboratory powder in a tub, or a pharmacy infusion strength preparation. The two are not described in the same way, and the collector needs the form, container size and any expiry date. Laboratory powder is a non hazardous entry, 16 05 09, covered by a transfer note. For a pharmacy preparation, name the product on the label and record the strength shown. Neither goes into a sink, a drain, a general waste bin or a skip, and nobody should try to treat it first. Specialist collection takes both.

Usually held as: solid, infusion strength preparations.

Part-used bottles and full containers are both fine. Tell us the size and how many, and an estimate is enough for a first price.