Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.96
Liaison Olivia Herron
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Miami University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Adam Sizemore
Director of Sustainability
Physical Facilities Department
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Miami's Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) operates the hazardous, universal & special waste programs on campus. EHSO promotes inventory control & works with chemical storeroom(s) to reduce the amount of over-ordering of chemicals and thus reduces the amount of surplus/unused chemicals. Miami University has adopted air permit changes that have reduced the amount of coal we are permitted to burn. In FY2017, no coal was burned at Miami University and we continued to not burn coal in FY2018. Under the direction of the Sustainability Office, batteries and light fixtures are recycled across campus through Cleanlites. Battery recycling stations are located across the entire university, including all residence halls.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Miami contracts with licensed hazardous & universal waste handlers to properly recycle/dispose of all campus regulated wastes.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant hazardous materials releases have occurred within the past three years. Several small laboratory incidents (i.e. mercury thermometers, acids/bases, solvents, etc.), all 4 liters or less, have been handled in-house by qualified researchers and environmental personnel.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Miami science departments, when appropriate, offer holding periods for unused/surplus chemicals and allow researchers from other laboratories & departments to acquire the chemicals at no additional cost.

Part 2 

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
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:

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:
The Miami University bookstore accepts used computers for recycling. They store these computers within the book store and reuse the acceptable parts. The book store will use the parts to fix and service new computers belonging to students, faculty, and staff. After a period of time, the collected computers will be picked up through IT Services, who also recycles electronic waste generated across campus. IT uses Cleanlites as the recycling service to ensure environmentally safe disposal of institution-generated solid computer waste.

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes

Optional Fields 

Electronic waste recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill or incinerator during the most recent year for which data is available during the previous three years:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.