Zinc chloride is not an especially dangerous chemical, although it is a skin and respiratory irritant, and strong solutions are corrosive. The normal precautions that should be used in laboratories while handling any chemical powder are sufficient for safe handling, provided that a fume hood is used to ensure that inhalation does not occur and that gloves are worn when weighing out the powder.

Spilled powder may be cleaned up by brushing excess powder into a plastic bag, then wiping any residue with water soaked cloth or paper towels, then washing out the cloth and wiping down the area with a wet cloth. Other than sufficiently large quantities of water being used, no further treatment is necessary. Ensure that gloves are being worn when this is done to avoid skin contact from a strong solution on the wet cloth.

Spilled solutions may be cleaned up by absorbing into a cloth or paper towels. It may then be treated as a powder spill, washed down with water etc.
Zinc chloride is not as toxic to the environment as many other compounds, such as mercuric chloride for which it often substitutes, but it should still be disposed of in a manner that does not contaminate our living space and which is consistent with local regulations.