| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 79.37 |
| Liaison | Jillian Leach |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
California State University, Chico
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 1.00 |
Gregory
Wiggins Climate & Energy Analyst Facilities Management & Services |
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?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
CSU Chico employs a holistic approach to hazardous & universal waste minimization as well as reducing the hazards of the materials in use whenever possible.The Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) department encourages purchasing only what is needed for the short term and avoiding the notion of buying in bulk as a cost-saving policy when it comes to chemical purchases. It is all too common for someone to get a "great deal" by buying larger quantities of chemical products and ignoring the resultant risk of having large quantities on hand and the eventual cost of shipping any unwanted and unused chemicals as a hazardous waste.If unwanted and unused chemicals do surface, the EHS department tries to match up the unwanted chemicals from one department with another department that could use them. This happens with laboratory chemicals as well as maintenance products. Paints are one of our most successful reuse items. Product substitution is an important tool CSU Chico employs whenever possible. We continually seek out opportunities to replace hazardous chemical products with alternatives that work as well but pose fewer hazards to the individual user and to the environment. This is most commonly applied to cleaning and maintenance products including pesticides.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All regulated waste is managed through the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) department. Campus users notify EHS and request a waste pickup periodically. EHS moves those wastes to a central accumulation area. At least every 90 days EHS ships chemical waste offsite with registered hazardous waste haulers.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
None.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
In 2019/2020, CSUC implemented the RSS program. This program has multiple risk and safety modules that can be linked collectively. One module that our campus has implemented is “Chemicals”. This module requires users to record their inventory into a database. Once completed, reports can be generated and searched systematically for chemicals with particular hazardous properties. This allows closer tracking of inventory and individual bottles, thereby avoiding purchasing material we already have. Sharing of chemicals from one user to another is also facilitated through this module thereby reducing the need for every researcher to have his or her own dedicated bottle of commonly used laboratory chemicals.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
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:
Management practices for electronic wastes on campus are similar to chemical waste – individual departments that generate electronic wastes contact the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) department to request removal of the waste. EHS moves the waste to a central accumulation point and handles the waste shipment, documentation, and record keeping.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
* Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?
No. Our current vendor was previously a R2 certified recycler, but with the current economy, they've been unable to pay for maintaining this certification.
* Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?
No. Our current vendor was previously a R2 certified recycler, but with the current economy, they've been unable to pay for maintaining this certification.
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.