Handling waste in ceramic studios

One of the key issues that ceramic potters find it difficult to avoid is post-work waste management including cleaning the studio after use especially equipment or buckets that are soiled with mud and leftover glazes from the glaze tank which are insufficient to coat the workpiece.

The first waste that any potters will surely encounter is "mud" that is attached to the equipment after work. If washed in a normal basin, over time the washed clay will accumulate and form a clay wall along the pipe. As a result, the water pipe can be clogged. To avoid this problem, potters should install a clay trap or apply a grease trap to become a clay trap in order to solve the problem of having to strip pipes completely. When the water from the sink is rested in the pond, it will precipitate into a layer of muddy clay and clear water. Let clear water be discharged along the drain. Then take the mud that has been layered in the cement tray until dried and then discard it. By using this method, what potters need to be careful is food scraps should not be washed in the sink connected to the trap as they will accumulate in the clay and cause a bad smell.

For "leftover glazes in the tank" which are no longer required. Potters should wait until the glaze separated from the clear water first. Then remove the water by letting the glaze become hard dried and then discard the waste or to be mixed with the rest of other dry glazes which may result in a special and unique glaze.