Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.84
Liaison Stephanie Del Rosario
Submission Date May 26, 2022

STARS v2.2

California State University, Fullerton
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Leo Lopez
Director of Environmental Health & Safety
Environmental Health & Safety
"---" 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:
CSUF has implemented a chemical inventory barcoding system which will assist in the monitoring and tracking of chemical use. The system ensures that expired chemicals are properly identified and disposed in a timely manner.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
CSUF EHS has implemented a proactive hazardous waste management program of properly characterizing spent hazardous chemical waste, excludable recyclable material, regulated and non-regulated hazardous materials/waste according to their DOT hazard class and chemical compatibility. CSUF has also implemented a practice of consolidating DOT/EPA and chemically compatible materials for disposal. Consolidating compatible hazardous waste has dramatically lowered the quantity of hazardous waste disposed at CSUF over the past 14 years. Once consolidated CSUF hires a certified hazardous waste hauler to transport the wastes to a permitted Treatment, Storage, and Disposal facility. Other practices implemented include installation of an oil filter crusher. Crushed oil filters are sold as scrap metals and the oil is placed into drums for disposal at an approved facility. Batteries are separated into rechargeable and non-rechargeable varieties. Non-rechargeable batteries are sent for disposal at an approved facility. Light bulbs and ballasts are also recycled at an approved disposal facility.

EHS has also developed an online hazardous waste form to insure that hazardous wastes on campus are picked up in a timely manner. This also gives staff/faculty a quick and easy way to request that their hazardous waste be removed.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There were no significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
CSUF has implemented an inventory system to help track hazardous chemicals on campus. All campus chemicals were barcoded during the 2018 summer break. EHS coordinates directly with principal investigators to facilitate the redistribution of 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:
Departments notify Facilities Management of the equipment to be recycled. This includes old phones, misc. electronics, audiovisual equipment, etc. Once Facilities Management picks up the E-waste, it is deposited into designated E-waste containers in a secured area. A CalRecycle approved E-waste contractor is notified when the containers are ready to be picked up. Certificates of recycling as well as yearly tonnages are supplied by the E-waste vendors.

There are e-waste containers deployed at Student Housing. The e-waste there is picked up regularly by Facilities Waste Management staff and processed through established measures.

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
No

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
http://ehs.fullerton.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

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.