Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.79
Liaison Barbara Queen
Submission Date June 20, 2022

STARS v2.2

California State University, Los Angeles
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Nida Niravanh
Director RM/EHS
Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS)
"---" 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 University utilizes an approval process for the purchase of all chemicals by the institution. The review by the RM/EHS Office looks at the material being purchased, its safety, hazard and exposure characteristics, the degree of severity of the chemical utilizing NFPA and Cal/OSHA standards, and the quantity being purchase to assure that adequate storage is available and that there remains only a ready supply of the hazardous material on hand. A review by the Office of Risk Management & Environmental, Health and Safety occurs and authorization to purchase is approved or not prior to the procurement of any hazardous material. Hazardous materials are inventoried using a QR code system and tracked through the life-cycle of the material to ultimate disposal. Hazardous materials that are identified as being no longer needed are offered to other authorized users of that material to maximize usage, minimize new inventory, and promote waste minimization.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University utilizes a certified hazardous waste hauler within the State of California and nationally, and disposal of the waste materials goes only to approved hazardous waste disposal sites. Identified credentialed personnel in the RM/EHS Office review and approve of all of the hazardous waste manifests prior to shipment. Tracking and reconciliation is maintained within the RM/EHS Office for all hazardous waste, universal waste and non-hazardous waste shipments.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No hazardous material release 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:
The University has employed a chemical inventory management system called Risk Safety Solutions owned/developed by the University of California. It is an inventory and cataloging system used to ensure all laboratory chemicals and materials are used to prevent waste. This system employs a QR code application identifying a particular container through the life-cycle of that chemical compound. With scanners and/ or through web based applications, the material can be identified wherever it may be stored, and area inventories are developed on this tracking system.

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:
Electronic wastes submitted to the RM/EHS Office are recycled through the hazardous waste hauler for the University. The Property Management Department receives and surveys out unusable computers, TVs, and miscellaneous electronics through an off-campus recycler.

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:
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.