| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.67 |
| Liaison | Daryl Pierson |
| Submission Date | April 8, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Portland State University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Tim
Wright Environmental Health and Safety Advisor Environmental Health and Safety |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
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
None
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Portland State University has procedures in place to dispose of all hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste according to state and federal regulations.
Portland State University has prepared a Toxic Use Reduction and Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan as required by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The Plan documents the following steps taken to reduce use of toxic chemicals and reduce the amount of hazardous waste generated:
-Specifying low toxicity green cleaners to be used by the University’s janitorial contractor.
-Purchasing/Specifying low VOC water based paints for use by the university maintenance crews.
-Following Integrated Pest Management protocols.
-Removal of organic solvent based degreasing tanks.
-Use of micro-scale chemistry techniques in teaching labs.
None
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Laboratories, maintenance crews, and others generating regulated wastes are trained to notify Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) for safe removal, storage, and disposal of these wastes. EH&S has contracts with licensed hazardous and universal waste haulers and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to manage wastes according to state and federal regulatory requirements.
None
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
Not applicable.
None
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Portland State University’s chemical stockroom is in the process of implementing new chemical inventory software that has the capacity to support a future chemical reuse program.
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s):
Electronic wastes are disposed of in accordance with the Sustainable Acquisition and Disposal of Electronic Equipment (E-waste/Recover Policy) issued by the State of Oregon on December 10, 2008, and in accordance with the State of Oregon Price Agreement for the Disposal of E-Waste. These documents establish an electronics recycling program that ensure electronics are either returned to the manufacturer through a buy-back/take-back type program, or are recycled using a Qualified Rehabilitation Facility (QRF). The State has contracted with Garten Services, Inc. to serve as the QRF that recycles electronic wastes generated by state institutions. Garten’s electronic recycling program and commitment to sustainability is described at the following website:
http://www.garten.org/services/admin/oregon/C46/
None
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
E-waste management is handled by Facilities and Planning’s Surplus Property unit and supported by campus Environmental Health & Safety. Campus staff request electronics waste pickups through a work order system, and trained Surplus Property staff pick up the equipment. Surplus Property identifies useable equipment and may sell it for re-use. The bulk of used electronics are securely stored at the Surplus Property warehouse. EH&S periodically arranges for an outside contractor (Garten Services, Inc., see below for more information) to pick up and recycle the stored electronics.
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information provided by:
Tim Wright
Environmental Health and Safety Advisor
tdw@pdx.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.