Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.56
Liaison Georgeann Moss
Submission Date Dec. 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

Dallas College
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Brandon Morton
Assistant Director of Sustainability
Office of Social Responsibility and Inclusion
"---" 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:

Dallas College manages hazardous wastes as required by the State of Texas. Hazardous materials are managed responsibly include:
- chemical reagents and biohazardous materials used in courses with laboratories
- cleaning agents used by custodial staff
- end-of-life lightbulbs
- building coatings and materials used in construction and maintenance

Before Dallas College became a single accredited institution, each independent college was responsible for a risk management plan that included standard operating procedures for managing regulated hazardous waste and non-regulated chemical waste.

The new risk management plan is in process of consolidation and led by the new Assistant Director of Risk Management. The college follows guidelines and regulations outlined by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) electronic database is managed by the Assistant Director of Risk Management, in collaboration with the Facilities Department and the Police Department, to provide information for student and faculty and at-ready hazmat information in the event of a spill or emergency.

Laboratories and instructional classrooms that use non-regulated chemical waste have specific protocols per laboratory classroom and per chemical waste. Chemical waste is disposed of in secure waste containers as indicated by the MSDS per chemical.


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

Dallas College contracts with several companies to safely dispose of or recycle all hazardous materials.


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

No hazardous materials incidents have been brought to the attention of Risk Management.


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

Dallas College utilizes an internal database and web site to manage laboratory hazardous waste, including providing digital access to all Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), called MSDS Online. Many laboratories choose to adopt green laboratory practices, but these practices are not widely known.


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

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:

All electronic waste generated by the institution is securely managed and recycled by a contracted company, eRecycler.

Students' electronic waste recycling is supported by referring students to using the Earth 911 Search platform to identify the closest recycling options.

For 2021-22, Dallas College partnered with local electronics recycling company, United Electronics Recycling Inc., to host public events for students and community members to come to campus and drop off their old electronics to be recycled. Previously, Earth Day celebrations have also included public recycling drop-off days for students and community members.


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

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 MSDS database is located on the student and employee intranet and is not public. The Dallas College Police and Safety Department web page includes hazardous spills protocol in the event of an emergency, https://www.dallascollege.edu/police-safety/emergency/guide/pages/hazardous-spills.aspx


The MSDS database is located on the student and employee intranet and is not public. The Dallas College Police and Safety Department web page includes hazardous spills protocol in the event of an emergency, https://www.dallascollege.edu/police-safety/emergency/guide/pages/hazardous-spills.aspx

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.