How to Dispose Of Used Stamp Pads Safely

A question that can often come up in the use of ink pads is how to safely dispose of them. Many people may think that an ink pad simply gets thrown in the trash when used up, but this is not true in the office environment. Ink used in stamp pads are oftentimes considered hazardous waste. These are listed under "office products" under the hazardous waste list and are disposed of using hazardous waste disposal guidelines.

Hazardous waste materials are disposed of in separate storage areas from standard garbage. There are then guidelines for pick up and disposal of these storage areas depending on the material or chemicals involved. If the items or chemicals are recyclable, they often are disposed of by local waste management or government agencies following the specific guidelines for the chemical in question.

While you can often get away with using the standard garbage can and weekly trash pickup to dispose of used ink pads once you are done with them, this is not so for office situations. Home owners are given a lot more leeway with disposal of hazardous goods. Offices, on the other hand, are often required to follow full hazardous waste disposal standards and procedures.