| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.88 |
| Liaison | Deborah Steinberg |
| Submission Date | Dec. 17, 2024 |
Carnegie Mellon University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Rebecca
Cicco Senior Manager, EH&S EH&S:Environmental Health & Safety and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Services |
Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Carnegie Mellon University's Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S) Office, regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), manages the disposal of all hazardous, universal, and non-RCRA chemical waste.
All laboratory and operations RCRA hazardous waste is collected through the EHS Department’s waste program. Chemical waste segregation and minimization are taught to every generator to help
reduce the quantity and toxicity of the chemical waste. To the extent possible waste is segregated to facilitate recycling.
All universal waste such as lead acid batteries, lithium batteries, mercury devices, and mercury-containing bulbs are collected for recycling.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All laboratory chemical waste is collected biweekly and stored in centralized vaults. Waste is segregated, bulked, and lab-packed for disposal.
The university uses Veolia of North America to transport, treat, and dispose of chemical waste. CMU has conducted site visits of the primary destination facilities in Ohio and Wisconsin to verify treatment methods. For example, spent solvents are sent to Veolia’s West Carrollton, OH facility for redistillation recycling and energy recovery. Mercury-containing bulbs and equipment are sent to Veolia’s Menomonee, WI for mercury and phosphorus recycling.
In ‘Maker Spaces’, CMU uses parts washers to clean parts and tools to reduce the amount of water used. This also ensures that hazardous wastes are not drain disposed.
Coolants and waste oils are bulked and shipped for recycling with Safety Kleen.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No reportable releases.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The Environmental Health and Safety program facilitates the exchange of unused or surplus 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 students?:
If yes to either of the above, provide:
The Environmental Health & Safety Office manages all e-waste recycling efforts. For the University, recyclable e-waste materials include computer monitors & towers, copy & fax machines, all computer peripherals, including covered devices.
The CMU Electronic Waste Program serves as an “End of Life” disposal in which equipment will not be refurbished or reused. This service is available to all Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff and students. Requests for pickups are made online, contractors pick up materials at the site of generation. The contractor is audited to ensure maximum level of recycling, plus data destruction. University electronic waste is remanufactured and the commodities are recycled. This is done to ensure data security.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://www.cmu.edu/ehs/hazardous-waste-management
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.