| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.82 |
| Liaison | Holli Fajack |
| Submission Date | Jan. 29, 2021 |
California State University, Long Beach
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Michael
Kitahara Haz-Mat Specialist Environmental Health & Safety |
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:
CSULB complies with all EPA regulations and procedures related to the handling and disposal of hazardous waste. Additionally, as a campus located in California, CSULB is also subject to much more rigorous standards than those imposed by EPA and is required to comply with California’s hazardous waste rules and regulations.
There are numerous chemicals not regulated by the EPA as hazardous waste that is treated as such under California regulations. For example, wastes containing corrosive solids, asbestos, nickel or zinc, used oil, or universal wastes are examples of common California-only hazardous wastes, and not regulated by the EPA.
All universal waste on campus (i.e. fluorescent lamps, batteries, electronics, etc.) is collected on campus for recycling. In addition, before a new chemical product is approved for purchase, a review of the product and its intended use is conducted to ensure that it is necessary for university-related work and that it cannot be substituted by an existing chemical product on campus.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All hazardous waste, including non-EPA designated chemical waste, such as waste oil, is picked up by a Hazardous Materials Technician from the various hazardous waste accumulation points on campus and transported to the main hazardous waste storage area in a secured location on campus. A California-licensed and registered hazardous waste transportation and disposal company picks up all hazardous waste and transports it to a processing facility, where it is recycled or treated. All universal waste, such as waste lamps, batteries, and electronics are transported to a recycling facility and processed accordingly.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There have been no hazardous material release incidents at CSU Long Beach.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Minimization in the purchasing of chemicals through chemical sharing is encouraged. Before any employee orders a chemical, he/she is directed to ask the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM) Safety staff to search for it on the campus Hazardous Materials Inventory to determine if any of the chemicals is available on-campus free of charge. All faculty and staff are required to participate in the campus-wide Hazardous Materials Inventory Program. This spreadsheet data is forwarded by the CNSM Safety Office to the campus Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Office. Individual chemical inventories are examined periodically to identify surplus materials. Faculty and staff are expected to obtain chemicals in quantities that will be used within a reasonable period of time.
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:
California law bans the disposal of any hazardous electronic waste, including batteries (California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 4.5, Sections 66273.3, & 66273.6 adopted by the California Department of Toxic Substances).
In order to ensure the safe and proper disposal of electronic waste generated at CSULB, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) works with the Property Management Office, Beach Building Services Movers staff, and Shipping and Receiving to inventory, transport, and dispose of university-owned equipment as follows:
Step 1: Employee completes and submits a Property Survey Form to the Property Management Office
Step 2: Property Management reviews the item and removes it from the university database (the department disposing of the item is responsible for wiping the hard drive)
Step 3: Arrangements are made to transport the item to the Shipping and Receiving Department for staging
Step 4: Certified e-waste vendor picks up items from Shipping and Receiving
Additionally, BeachTech, located on the second floor of the University Bookstore, offers a program for students, staff, and faculty to trade-in their own personally-owned computers, laptops, and phones for cash, incentivizing sustainable methods for retired hardware.
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:
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.