Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 48.46
Liaison Gabrielle Lommel
Submission Date Dec. 16, 2020

STARS v2.2

Concordia College - Moorhead
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Jackie Maahs
Sustainability Coordinator
Student Engagement
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

It is the duty of all who generate hazardous waste to ensure that all hazardous waste is handled in a manner that is safe, environmentally friendly and complies with all local, state and federal regulations. This is meant to include wastes that are not, by statute, hazardous but which, if carelessly discarded, could possibly cause harm to people and/or the environment. To avoid the possibility that a hazardous waste may be erroneously considered harmless, Concordia considers as hazardous waste any waste that has the property of ignitability, corrosivity, is toxic or reactive, or is infectious.

The College is licensed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as a Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG) of hazardous Waste. Under this license the College manages wastes across a number of categories: Laboratory, Photographic, Parts Washer Solvent, Paint/Thinners, Paint Filters, Stripper Wastes, Acids/Bases, Wastes Containing Toxic Metal, Residue/Sludges and Ignitable Wastes. The departments across campus that produce these wastes are not only committed to proper disposal of waste, but to developing procedures and protocol that minimizes the generation of waste to begin with, as described in the college's Hazardous Waste Management Plan.

Economic order quantity inventory management results in reduced chemical inventory on hand and less waste. Procure and use what is needed. Integrate practices that use small quantities of chemicals. The College contracts with licensed disposal companies.


A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

The College contracts with a licensed (Federal and State) company for pickup/packaging, transport and disposal of hazardous waste.


A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:

None


A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:

With the completion of the ISC building in 2017/2018, the college has started moving to one centralized chemical stockroom, rather than each department having their own stock room. This has greatly aided is ensuring that chemicals are distributed properly and reused whenever possible. Allison, and with the help of her stockroom inventory system, prioritize keeping things organized to promote proper distribution and limit over use.


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

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:

When institution-owned equipment is finished being used, it is often cycled to adjunct faculty and student employees. And if electronic equipment is not cycled to anyone on campus, Concordia donates an enormous amount of used equipment to non-profit organizations, including churches and schools - both private and public. Finally, when electronic equipment becomes unusable, Concordia disposes of the e-waste by using a certified recycling system within a waste removal company.


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

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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