Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.14
Liaison Kylee Singh
Submission Date July 10, 2023

STARS v2.2

California Polytechnic State University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Edgar Palacios
Energy and Sustainability Analyst
Facilities Management and Development
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

Does the institution have strategies in place to safely dispose of all hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste and seek to minimize the presence of these materials on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The campus has policy in place regarding the procurement of hazardous materials and staff is encouraged to purchase materials volume(s) which minimize the potential for expired or unused stock becoming waste.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The university contracts with registered and approved waste transporters to recycle or dispose of waste at approved treatment storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs). Universal waste is managed at approved waste treatments sites that can recover/recycle as appropriate. Non-regulated waste is disposed through conventional means and routed to recycling facilities were appropriate.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
The answer depends on whose definition “significant” and/or “hazardous material”. A few things were reported to CAL OES (state office of emergency services) but they aren’t considered “hazardous materials” in the world of the EPA. Two documents have been attached that identify incidents in the past three years.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Campus-wide implementation of chemical inventory software tracking and database that allows campus staff to search and share materials across departments share and re-purpose unused/unwanted laboratory chemicals.

Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s), including information about how electronic waste generated by the institution and/or students is recycled:
Campus housing ensures that collection exists just before and during spring Move-Out to allow students to donate E-waste for reuse, refurbishment or recycling.

All institutional electronic waste is collected at one location for sorting and processing. There are two main paths for electronic waste. Electronic waste that is deemed reusable is made available for redistribution to the entire institution then sold to the public via an online auction system if the institution has no need for the electronics'. The online auction can be found at here: https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/calpoly,ca/list/current?orgid=3013

For electronic waste that is deemed unusable or can't be refurbish it is collected and sent to an electronic waste recycler. Our institution contracts with ERI Direct for electronic waste recycling. They are certified under Responsible Recycling (R2v3) standards. Ther are also ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 ISO 45001 , and ESG certified https://www.4tempus.com/municipalities

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
https://afd.calpoly.edu/ehs/hazardouswaste

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Cal_Poly_Discharge_Notices_04_22_02_23.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.