Autoclaving certain plastics? My professor is letting me use the autoclave in the future, but I am a novice. I asked him what materials were safe to autoclave for my notes, materials meaning glass or plastic-ware. He stated, &quot;It depends on alot of factors, but some hard and opaque plastics are generally ok, also Teflon products.&quot;
I couldnt really ask him any more questions since it is still winter break and I guess he isnt responding to emails, so I decided to google the issue.
I found this source of an autoclave guide at: https://uwaterloo.ca/safety-office/sites/ca.safety-office/files/uploads/files/guideline-for-safe-use-of-autoclaves.pdf

Good Choices:
borosilicate glass (Pyrex) has very low thermo
expansion property and therefore resistant to breaking due to heating
polypropylene (PP) and polycarbonate (PC) are heat resistant plastics
stainless steel is a good heat conductor and thus facilitates
sterilization
Poor Choices:
polystyrene (PS), polylethylene (PE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) do not resist heat well.
if there is a risk of material melting ensure they are placed in a
secondary container which is resistant to heat.

Would this be an accurate  summary of what plastics / glassware to use in an autoclave? I would ask about the validity of the website itself, but I assumed it was reliable because it was based off of a college.
The list looks accurate. For example, the melting point of polypropylene ranges from ~130 C to ~160 C, so it's likely safe to autoclave.  Commercially available polyethylene melts ~100 -110 C, so is unsuitable for autoclaving.

Another common plastic, not listed above, polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), used for packaging and soft-drink bottles, softens below 100 C and is also unsuited for an autoclave.

Electrical and optical items used in endoscopic procedures are often heat-sensitive and cannot be autoclaved, posing difficulties in removing contamination.

As suggested, if you're unsure but must autoclave an item, place it in an open or perforated container so as to reduce risk of damage to the sterilizer.