Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.85
Liaison Laura Young
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Michigan State University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Brain Watts
Service Manager V
IPF Motor Pool
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

MSU utilizes various economically feasible minimization methods for different waste streams.  Activities include: consolidation of smaller wastes into drums to reduce the bulk of materials produced; elementary neutralization of corrosive materials; segregation of non-RCRA materials into separate waste streams; return of discarded commercial chemical products to serviceable use on main campus where use is as originally intended by the manufacturer. These processes are detailed in the Waste Disposal Guide [https://ehs.msu.edu/policy-guide.html].   For universal waste, the materials are collected and sorted then sent to a recycler.  Implementation of the The Energy Transition Plan has provided strategic guidance to reducing wastes requiring disposal. 

MSU has strategies, processes, policies and training in place to minimize the presence of these materials on campus.  In addition, less consumption is promoted and alternative solutions suggested to reduce the overall use of materials.  MSU has eliminated the burning of coal as of 2016; eliminating a number of key wastes such as coal ash.


A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

All hazardous and non-regulated chemical waste produced on campus or on off-site research stations is transported to MSU's regulated Waste Storage Facility in vehicles that are licensed by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.  All containers of waste are properly labeled by the generator with the identity of the waste- this information is compared with the color and consistency of the waste to ensure label accuracy.  trained hazardous waste professionals consolidate compatible wastes into 55-gal drums and the drums are then picked up by qualified vendor at regular intervals.  https://whs.msu.edu/policy_guide.html


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:

Each laboratory on campus is required to keep an up-to-date accurate chemical inventory as a part of managing their laboratory chemicals.  It includes the amt.; location; date and responsible person for all acquisitions, syntheses and disposal for the chemicals.  Once a lab manager files a form for disposal of chemicals, it is collected by hazardous waste professionals and determined whether it is in a reusable condition.  They may then offer the chemicals to other researchers in the same building or store them at the Waste Storage Facility for future reuse before removing them as waste.  Researchers are also encouraged through training to purchase smaller quanitities of chemicals when possible to avoid excess waste quantities.he


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

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:

MSU's sustainable management of electronics waste has several components as illustrated in the infographic uploaded as supplemental materials.  the Computer Division of MSU Surplus manages all of the university e-waste.  the main goals are diverting waste from landfills & ensuring the security of personal information and data.  All electronic waste is processed through the MSU Surplus Store operations.  Items that cannot be resold or reused are recycled through a vendor. MSU recycled approximately 260,000 pounds of e-waste in 2016. and over 4,080,138 gigabytes of data cleaned and destroyed. As a new innovation, MSU recognized the need for a Technology Leading Program to reduce the amount of technology purchased for shorter, finite periods of time.  University departments can lead items such as desktops, laptops, and iPads for either short term or long term use. It offers university departments these electronics for less than half the price of third party technology leasing programs.  


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

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:
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Hazardous Waste: Brian Smith [smithb97@ehs.msu.edu] Electronic Waste: Tim Heckaman heckama5@msu.edu


Hazardous Waste: Brian Smith [smithb97@ehs.msu.edu] Electronic Waste: Tim Heckaman heckama5@msu.edu

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.