| Overall Rating | Bronze - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 35.40 |
| Liaison | David Liebman |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Santa Rosa Junior College
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Robin
McHale Manager Environmental Health & Safety |
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:
In order to produce less chemical waste the Chemistry department uses less materials for their demonstrations. For a reduction in universal waste the campus has been changing lights from florescent lights for LEDs. At the Public Training Center range a collection system has been installed. This collection system collects the material from the range which would be hazardous waste but now it gets hauled and separated.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Hazardous wastes are disposed of in various ways. Typical wastes from the Chemistry Dept. ( A primary waste source), are lab packed in various types and sizes of Department of Transportation approved containers and are transported out of state for disposal. They are incinerated or treated depending on the material characteristics. I discourage landfill disposal but sometimes it is unavoidable.
Photochemical wastes are generated by the Art Dept. and Dental Hygiene. They are transported to San Rafael and go through a process where the toxic material (silver) is extracted from the fluid, reducing the silver content to a level that can be disposed of the sanitary sewer.
Medical Waste is generated by various departments at several campuses and is picked up by a licensed waste hauler (Med Waste Management) and is either incinerated or autoclaved. Typically autoclaved material would contain sharps (needles) and incinerated waste would contain dissected tissues of animals and the like.
Universal Wastes are generated District-wide. They include fluorescent light tubes, batteries, tires, e-waste, and other assorted light bulbs. They are recycled using various practices. For instance, the light tubes have the mercury containing vapor extracted. The glass tube and endcaps are then recycled .
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
None
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The Chemistry Department has the most accurate system of chemical tracking as they must know how much material to order year by year. I believe they have students employed there perform a periodic check. Information contained on Hazardous Waste Manifests may help a little to track as well, but the amounts indicated are sometimes only best guesses by the waste technician.
We are currently working with a vendor called Site Hawk to manage our SDS’s and are trying to incorporate a chemical inventory tracking component as well. It is a slow process but our department is starting to make a little headway.
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:
The district contracts with METech which handles the electronic waste recycling program for the institution. For student electronic there was a free E-waste recycling event around earth day.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Electronic waste recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill or incinerator during the most recent year for which data is available during the previous three years:
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.