Final answer:
Needles and other sharps must be disposed of in a properly labeled, leakproof, rigid, sharps container. These containers help prevent skin punctures and ensure safe handling, and they should be marked with the international symbol for biohazards.
Step-by-step explanation:
Needles and other sharps must be disposed of in a properly labeled, leakproof, rigid, sharps container. This is crucial for ensuring that these biohazards, which can include used needles potentially harboring disease-causing organisms like bacteria or viruses, are handled safely. The importance of biosafety in a laboratory setting, including the disposal of biohazard waste, is emphasized by the need for all such waste to be sterilized, usually by autoclave, before it can be included in the waste stream.
According to practices and procedures for microbiology laboratories, any items that present a risk of infection or injury due to their ability to pierce the skin, must be discarded in a container designed specifically for sharps. This helps to prevent accidental skin punctures, which is a primary hazard to people working in laboratories dealing with potentially dangerous substances. The international symbol for biohazards should be easily recognizable on these containers, making it clear that the contents are hazardous and require special handling.