Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 48.57
Liaison Jennifer McMillin
Submission Date June 15, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Cleveland State University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.75 / 1.00 Jennifer McMillin
Director of Sustainability
Facilities l Architect l Safety l Technology
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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:
Academic areas strive towards micro experimentation in laboratories. Researchers are encouraged to order only those quantities that will be completely consumed as part of the experimentation process. Facilities personnel have made the use of non-toxic products a common practice and promote the use of such materials wherever possible. All chemical procurement first passes through the Office of Environmental Health and Safely and is carefully monitored. EHS maintains complete records of all hazardous waste handling, generation, storage, shipping and personnel training, https://www.csuohio.edu/sites/default/files/Hazardous%20Waste%20Contingency%20Plan%202015_4.pdf

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
CSU operates in compliance with state and federal regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as a Small Quantity Generator. We collect and store generated hazardous waste for 180 days from the start of accumulation. We collect and store universal waste (lamps, batteries) for one year. The following steps outline the process for collection and disposal of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste. 1. Fill out a Universal Waste Form or a Hazardous Waste Inventory Sheet, provided by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. 2. Contact Environmental Health and Safety to arrange a drop-off date and time. All wastes are securely stored on campus. An inventory of all items in storage is maintained, including quantities and dates. Universal waste is collected once per year and hazardous waste is collected twice per year. CSU utilizes an outside contractor to pick up hazardous waste to be taken to a Transfer, Storage, Disposal Facility (TSDF). Universal is waste is also collected by an outside contractor. https://www.csuohio.edu/sites/default/files/Universal%20Waste%20Disposal%20Procedures%202015.pdf

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 within the past three years.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
All chemicals are requested via an in-house procurement form and purchased via the MagnusMart purchasing system. Chemicals are then used in a laboratory training/teaching/research environment. Once they have been used and stored they are treated as hazardous waste and disposed of according to the method outlined above. EHS maintains a complete inventory of all chemicals in the EHS database. Additionally, EHS is facilitating lab clean outs to remove outdated chemicals from lab storage facilities to ensure that the inventory is accurate and up to date. Practices for Proper Chemical Storage: https://www.csuohio.edu/sites/default/files/Practices%20for%20Proper%20Chemical%20Storage%202015.pdf

Part 2 

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?:
No

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:
The Information Services and Technology department (IS&T) and Property Control collaborate to manage electronic waste on campus. IS&T purchases computer equipment centrally. When a department no longer needs a computer, it is transferred by the Moving Department to Property Control. Property Control removes the hard drives and shreds them on site. Computers with a remaining useful life are refurbished by IS&T and sold at a significantly discounted rate to campus departments with a two year service agreement. Electronic equipment with no remaining useful life is bundled and sent for recycling by a company certified under Responsible Recycling (R2) standards.

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes

Optional Fields 

Electronic waste recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill or incinerator during the most recent year for which data is available during the previous three years:
32.80 Tons

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.csuohio.edu/controllers-office/property-control

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Property Control e-waste annual totals.xlsx

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.