Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.56
Liaison Mari Acob-Nash
Submission Date Oct. 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

North Seattle College
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Finance and Ops
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

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:
There are both a Hazard Communication Plan and a Chemical Hygiene Plan in place that ensure our policies and actions at NSCC comply with Federal, State, and Local Hazardous material handling regulations. The campus has a Pollution Prevention and annual inventory filed with the Washington State Department of Ecology in which the 313 listed chemicals products used throughout the year are inventoried and accounted for through the waste stream.

Chemical hygiene standards discussed in HazCom training:

Prefer to purchase:
- least hazardous product options
- recycled/repurposed product, where possible
- No more than 6 months storage (even if you get a bargain for bulk)
- Seek ways to decrease waste generation

Pollution Prevention:
- before a spill verify adequate spill kit materials, based on the chemicals used/stored in the workspace
- know your drain (be prepared to block your drain)
- NEVER leave an open container unattended
- ALWAYS label a new container, at the time of transfer
- NEVER store chemicals above eye level

Know the Emergency Plans & Procedures, including locations of:
- Nearest emergency exits
- SDS Binder & HazCom Program
- Emergency Equipment
- Spill kits
- Fire extinguishers & pull stations
- Emergency eyewash-shower stations
- First aid supply hub
- AED locations

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Hazardous waste is disposed through DES state contract with Clean Harbors. Universal waste (used lamps, batteries, oil, and mercury bearing switches) are disposed through Ecolights.
Biohazardous waste and contaminated sharps are disposed of through Stericycle.
Used petroleum oil, cooking oils, fats oils and grease are recycled by Emerald Services (now owned by Clean Harbors) or Ecolights.

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:
New chemical hygiene standards have been instilled such that departments are not to purchase any quantity of chemicals greater than the expected use for a 6 month period. These standards are communicated in the Hazard Communication training, which is required for all employees working with or around hazardous chemicals and to be refreshed no later than every 3 years (or annually for employees working with or around hazardous waste) and at each time an employee is transferred or new hire.

Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

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:
All college/state owned computers are recycled by the IT Department through InterConnection (first nonprofit in the U.S. to gain R2:2013 and ISO 14001 certification status), a 501(c)3 non-profit that refurbishes and ships computers and laptops worldwide. We also use 3R Technology (only R2:2013 and NAID AAA-Certified ITAD certified e-waste recycling company in the Pacific Northwest) for electronics that InterConnection cannot easily refurbish or recycle. Additionally, small donation boxes are located on campus that also go to InterConnection for recycling and reuse.

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

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
https://northseattle.edu/safety-and-security/hazardous-materials

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://interconnection.org/r2andiso.php

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.