| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.90 |
| Liaison | Kathleen Crawford |
| Submission Date | July 23, 2020 |
Florida Gulf Coast University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.75 / 1.00 |
Rhonda
Holtzclaw Director Environmental Health & Safety |
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?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The Department of Environmental Health and Safety works with any potential generators of hazardous waste to minimize the amount of waste generated. Each department of Florida Gulf Coast University is responsible for reasonable and appropriate actions to minimize the amount of hazardous waste generated by their operations, teaching, and research. Waste minimization techniques include, but are not limited to: eliminating the waste generating process, substituting a non-hazardous or less hazardous material, purchasing smaller quantities, using less material, reducing the scale of procedures or processes, partnering with other labs or stockrooms to share supplies, reusing and recycling materials where practical, and not purchasing large quantities of materials because they are less expensive per unit volume.
No special wastes are present on campus.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Florida Gulf Coast University is still successful in remaining a Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG). This is done by diligent and vigilant oversight by Environmental Health and Safety and by purifying chemicals such as alcohols, acetone, and xylenes for reuse in classrooms and laboratories. In our efforts to retain this official generator status, we use several waste minimization techniques to prevent pollution and reduce the waste production on campus. The U.S. EPA and the Florida DEP recommend these techniques, such as solvent recycling, bioremediation, and simple chemical neutralization.
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 significant release incidents in the history of the institution.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
FGCU uses the LabCup Laboratory Management Software Inventory System to maintain a live inventory of all chemicals on campus. EH&S collects and redistributes chemicals that are no longer needed from one area of campus to another.
Our solvent recycling process is a clear-cut, streamlined process where spent xylenes, alcohols, and acetone mixtures are purified through fractional distillation and reused in the same original processes or for less sensitive ones. EH&S functions as the wheels of the process, collecting the spent solutions from the labs, running them through the recycler, and returning them to the lab or stockroom.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
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:
Any department that has electronic equipment requiring disposal contacts the Physical Plant Department's Work Management Center providing both the location and amount of electronics to be recycled. The Work Management Center coordinates the delivery of e-waste to Lee County who sends it for responsible deconstruction. None of the e-waste is landfilled or incinerated.
https://www.leegov.com/solidwaste/recycling
The Environmental Health & Safety Department directs residents and community members how and where to take their personal devices and batteries, and Housing directs residents during end of semester move outs.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
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.