Rice University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management

As a part of source reduction, Rice has increased lab inspection frequency to reduce and prevent the accumulation of unwanted and outdated hazardous chemicals. Waste management systems are in place with specific, heavy waste producing labs, to focus the minimization efforts. To reduce the waste, Rice has decreased the volume of hazardous gases purchased at one time to prevent over excess of materials. The lab personnel are instructed to return their gas cylinders to the manufacturer as opposed to conventional disposal methods. All staff is required to watch a better lab practices video which includes methods to reduce waste generation as well as energy conservation.

Rice University works with a waste contractor that collects the waste and properly disposes of it. We also have an internal renew program by collecting inventory of what professors keep what chemicals in the event that a lab is shut down, other professors can use those materials as opposed to disposing of all chemicals.

We have had none.

The BioSciences Research Collaborative has a barcode system in place for all chemicals that tracks the lifespan of the chemicals and alerts staff of pick up for chemicals that have been used up.

The IT department at Rice University has created a program that handles university-wide electronic waste. The department has developed a hotline that staff and faculty can call for the IT to pick up their electronic waste. If the waste contains data such as hard drives, they will then erase all of the data on-site. Once the data is erased, they have partnered with local recycling programs that meet environmental and fair labor regulations who collect the waste and recycle it responsibly. That program will then sell the scraps and the university will receive a portion of the profit as a kickback to further the recycling program. The Rice Environmental Club started the Electronic waste recycling program which allows students to drop off their used electronics which are then transported to a certified recycler. Specifically, the Environmental Club hosts the drive in partnership with a Houston electronic recycling company, CompuCycle, as part of its "WhatIf" campaign. The campaign aims to collect and recycle 500,000 pounds of e-waste to aid the clients of Easter Seals Greater Houston, an organization that serves people with both physical and mental disabilities. CompuCycle will provide permanent employment positions to Easter Seals Greater Houston’s clients, and Easter Seals will provide initial training courses to its clients to teach necessary job skills, including recycling, refurbishing computers and electronic products, and basic computer proficiency. Thus, funds from Rice's processed electronics go toward the Easter Seals training program.

As mentioned above, all third party recycling companies are either local or have provided certification that they handle all materials in an environmentally and labor friendly environment. Rice University requires this documentation before signing on with any company. Staff will then visit the recycling companies' facilities to ensure they are following all written agreements.