| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 80.87 |
| Liaison | Megan Butler |
| Submission Date | Jan. 26, 2024 |
Macalester College
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Jill
Wirth Environmental Health and Safety Manager Facilities Services |
"---"
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:
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
• 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 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, fluorescent bulbs, and other waste campus wide
• Remediation of select wastes in-house to reduce shipping (e.g. acid neutralization)
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, fluorescent bulbs, and other waste campus wide
• 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.
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:
We use RePowered, a certified R2 and NAID facility, for processing the College's electronic waste. RePowered re-sells functioning systems and pays Macalester a portion of profit sharing.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes
Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.