| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58.19 |
| Liaison | Emma Blandford |
| Submission Date | March 2, 2021 |
Georgia Institute of Technology
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Anne
Rogers Sustainability Program & Portfolio Manager Office of Campus Sustainability |
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:
Georgia Tech's Environmental Health and Safety Department provides training on the proper treatment of hazardous, universal and non-regulated chemical waste.
At our training sessions, EHS teams focus on the phrase “less is best” when planning projects. This saves money and increases safety. EHS recommends the practices to reduce chemical waste, including limiting the amount of ordered chemicals, reviewing stocks, not stockpiling chemicals, rotating stocks, and following a checklist made by the department to accomplish waste minimization.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Georgia Tech has hazardous waste divided into multiple categories that include chemical, biological, batteries, and more. Each category gives a guideline for the types of containers, container labeling, removal of waste, and management practices. Overall, the waste containers must be compatible with the type of waste in them, stored in a secondary containment, labeled and capped. GT members request a pickup through EHS Assistant (EHSA), a web based comprehensive research safety management.
Georgia Tech follows federal, state, and local government regulations on how to manage, store, and dispose of hazardous materials.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
N/A
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
EHS Assistant (EHSA) is a web based comprehensive research safety management system that allows faculty and staff to access one portal to view safety information about their work areas and complete various tasks. After using GT Authentication to log in, researchers can view their chemical, laser, x-ray, and radioactive material inventory. They can register new lab personnel, respond to lab inspections, and view lab personnel training history. Lab or Area personnel can manage their lab’s chemical inventory to include entering new chemicals, generating waste labels, and requesting waste pick-ups. An online BMSC protocol submission form is available for work with biological/infectious material.
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:
EHS HazMat team supports green initiatives by recycling batteries and offers on-campus collection program. Students and staff can recycle Alkaline, NiCd, Lithium Ion, Lead Acid batteries of all size. We also provide collection boxes for small sized batteries. GT members may request a pickup or request a battery collection box by emailing batteries@gatech.edu.
https://ehs.gatech.edu/hazardous/batteries
The largest collection of e-waste on campus occurs during Earth Day celebration where Georgia Tech partners with Atlanta Recycling Solutions. The collection event began in 2006 and lasts for 5 hours on Earth Day. This event is open to staff and students on campus. On average, each year 1,600-5,500 pounds of e-waste is collected. Other electronics such as hard drives and major computer components will be collected on campus and properly disposed of throughout the year.
Yes, all electronics purchased by Georgia Tech are sent to the Institute’s Surplus facility. If they are not claimed, they are sent to the state’s recycling vendor.
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:
Electronics recycling vendor - https://www.premiersurplus.com/certifications/
Electronics recycling vendor - https://www.premiersurplus.com/certifications/
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.