Beginning students in chemistry usually do not realize that wastes generated in their experimental classes constitute an environmental problem and that residues must be treated or disposed of in a suitable way. In this manuscript we describe the work that we have been doing in the inorganic chemistry course of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul with the objective of creating a critical consciousness in the students about the chemical wastes they generate. With this policy, students are required to take into account the nature of the residues they generate, how they can treat or segregate them, and how they can keep them in a suitable way for final destination, instead of simply throwing them away.
chemical waste management; environment; inorganic chemistry
