| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.99 |
| Liaison | Megan Butler |
| Submission Date | July 18, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Macalester College
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Robert C.
Rossi Laboratory Manager Chemistry Department |
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:
Macalester College has taken a number of steps to reduce hazardous waste on campus. These include:
• Centralized chemical ordering system
• Laboratory exercises scaled down from grams to milligrams
• Many laboratory experiments redesigned to reduce the chemical hazards associated with them
• Yearly inventory of chemicals
• Chemical tracking system
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Use of hazardous chemicals is subject to specific protocol outlined in the college’s Chemical-Hygiene Plan. It delineates specific procedures for chemical usage as well as detailed protocol to be used in the case of over exposure to hazardous chemicals. The disposal of this chemical waste is taken care of by a licensed recycling company contracted by Macalester. Macalester chooses which company to use based on methods for waste transport and disposal, company reputation, and cost. Macalester prefers to dispose of its hazardous wastes using combustion or fuel blending.
In its waste disposal practices, the college aims to be economical as well as environmentally responsible as possible.
Some additional steps include:
• Use of water miscible paints to allow safe disposal down the drain
• Recycling of used car batteries, oil, light bulbs, and other waste from Facilities Management
• Remediation of select wastes in-house to reduce shipping (e.g. acid neutralization)
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:
Macalester College has implemented a campus-wide inventory system to facilitate the reuse of laboratory chemicals. Each chemical bottle has a unique barcode. The computerized inventory system uses this barcode to store the bottle's information, including chemical information, container size and room location. Faculty can then always be aware of what chemicals are available for use. Faculty also do an evaluation on the use of chemicals once a year to better inform which kinds of chemicals should be purchased in lower quantity to reduce any unnecessary waste.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all 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):
We pay a materials recycling company, http://www.mpc-e.com, to come to campus and haul away our accumulated e-waste. Broken and irreparable components are broken down, and their component elements are either recycled or disposed of in approved, environmentally-conscious ways. Computers and electronic devices that still work are refurbished and resold to the public at substantial discounts - Macalester gets 50% of the proceeds from these sales. To date, the profit-sharing has been sufficient to cover our costs for recycling our e-waste, which is in itself economically sustainable.
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
Full information about MPC-e.com's recycling practices and the standards they meet can be found on their Web site, http://www.mpc-e.com. Their certifications include R2, e-Stewards, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and Microsoft Registered Refurbisher. MPC-e belongs to NAID and ITAR.
The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
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.