San Diego Mesa College
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Michelle
Rodriguez Professor Political Science |
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?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
San Diego Mesa College has adopted many strategies to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste. A brief report of all our initiatives regarding waste management can be found in this document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_ABFF_g9wKJw4cOaZiBE1hSoFWzIk-fi/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103370606114277437597&rtpof=true&sd=true
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
At Mesa College, all universal and non-regulated waste is removed from campus within 90 days of being generated. The process is done by a third company, Clean Harbors.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No such events have happened in the last three years.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Mesa College keeps a campus-wide chemical inventory, which is updated annually, but not strictly for the purpose of redistributing chemicals. To help reduce excess chemical waste, Mesa’s technicians have been asked to purchase no more than a year’s worth of any chemical at any one time. This is mostly adhered to because of budget and storage constraints. There have been times, within our science department, when chemicals have been redistributed to other labs or programs, due to changes in lab procedures. However, redistribution does not happen often due to the limited amount of chemicals stored.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
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 the institution’s surplus equipment (computers, monitors, electronics, etc…) are auctioned off to the public per district requirements via our auction company, CalAuctions.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://www.sdmesa.edu/college-services/safety/policies-plans/Mesa-Chemical-Hygiene-Plan.pdf (page 13 - for Chemical Waste guidelines)
https://www.sdmesa.edu/college-services/safety/policies-plans/Mesa-Chemical-Hygiene-Plan.pdf (page 13 - for Chemical Waste guidelines)
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.