Portland Community College
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

- Portland Community College has instituted a district wide Sustainable purchasing policy through the college's Board of Directors. The policy reads as follows:"In accordance with the Oregon Community College Rules of Procurement member colleges are committed to the use and purchase of environmentally and socially responsible materials and products which are fiscally responsible, reduce resource consumption and waste, perform adequately and promote human health and well-being. Recognizing their regional economic role Colleges shall seek opportunities to educate, encourage, and influence their respective markets by utilizing, where feasible, products and services including new environmentally preferable products, reusable products, recycled content and recycled products." This policy serves as a framework from which all purchasing managers must fit their purchases. Part of the purpose of institutionalizing a sustainable purchasing policy was to begin minimizing the amount of hazardous products being purchased by the and used by the institution. In addition, the policy lays the beginning foundation for further reduction of hazardous waste consumption and increases the district's awareness and focus on sustainable, environmentally friendly purchases.

- If PCC does generate hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste, then there is a strict collection and disposal process that must be followed. PCC has a specific department that handles all hazardous waste matters - the Safety and Risk Management services. All Facility Management Services staff that come in contact with any of the materials listed above, or may come in contact in the future, are given an extensive, all-day training called, "All Campus Locations: Facility Maintenance Services Department, Environmental, Hazardous, and Non-hazardous Waste Management Training (40 CFR 262.34(d)(5)(iii). Upon completion of the training, staff are able to properly identify, collect, store, label, and dispose of all institutionally-generated hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste. In order to ensure that all above waste is properly disposed or recycled after it is collected, PCC contracts with a hazardous waste service provider in the Portland area, North West Environmental.