| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.15 |
| Liaison | Emma Blandford |
| Submission Date | Feb. 29, 2024 |
Georgia Institute of Technology
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Emma
Blandford Portfolio Manager Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal
Yes
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.
https://www.ehs.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/documents/hazardous/hazmat.pdf
https://www.ehs.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/documents/hazardous/hazmat.pdf
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.
https://www.ehs.gatech.edu/hazardous
https://www.ehs.gatech.edu/hazardous
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.
https://www.ehs.gatech.edu/ehsa
TipCycle Program
A single lab can discard an average of 36,000 pipettes each year. Georgia Tech is addressing the problem with a solution that focuses on reuse of this critical lab tool through its Tip Cycle program.
TipCycle began in late 2020 as a response to the pipette tip shortage during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The workflow began with one team member utilizing the cutting-edge technology by Grenova to maintain the high throughput COVID-19 surveillance program responsible for thousands of students and personnel samples a day. As the volume of samples reduced, our goal was to broaden the efficacy of this technology to the wider community here at Georgia Tech. TipCyle as a service was born as a result with the sole purpose to reduce single-plastic usage in laboratories, cut costs, and reduce the strain of supply chain issues.
https://tipcycle7.wixsite.com/tipcycle
https://www.ehs.gatech.edu/ehsa
TipCycle Program
A single lab can discard an average of 36,000 pipettes each year. Georgia Tech is addressing the problem with a solution that focuses on reuse of this critical lab tool through its Tip Cycle program.
TipCycle began in late 2020 as a response to the pipette tip shortage during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The workflow began with one team member utilizing the cutting-edge technology by Grenova to maintain the high throughput COVID-19 surveillance program responsible for thousands of students and personnel samples a day. As the volume of samples reduced, our goal was to broaden the efficacy of this technology to the wider community here at Georgia Tech. TipCyle as a service was born as a result with the sole purpose to reduce single-plastic usage in laboratories, cut costs, and reduce the strain of supply chain issues.
https://tipcycle7.wixsite.com/tipcycle
Part 2. Electronic waste diversion
Yes
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes
If yes to either of the above, provide:
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
Personally owned computers and electronics can be dropped off to get recycled year-round at the Kendeda Building.
https://facilities.gatech.edu/recyclable-materials
Atlanta Recycling Solutions is the institute's electronic waste recycler.
https://ehs.gatech.edu/hazardous/batteries
Personally owned computers and electronics can be dropped off to get recycled year-round at the Kendeda Building.
https://facilities.gatech.edu/recyclable-materials
Atlanta Recycling Solutions is the institute's electronic waste recycler.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Electronics recycling vendor - https://atlantarecyclingsolutions.com/about/
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.