Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.02
Liaison Beth Klein
Submission Date Feb. 25, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

State University of New York at Cortland
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Matt Brubaker
Energy Manager
Facilites Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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

A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
SUNY Cortland established a Chemical Procurement Program where chemicals and products are scrutinized by Environmental Health and Safety prior to purchase. Users are requested to purchase only the quantities necessary to perform their work. Stockpiling of chemicals is not encouraged. In the event that a chemical is requested that is not TSCA listed, is extremely hazardous, or has properties that could make it hazardous, the user is strongly encouraged to find a safer substitute for that chemical. Additionally, review of chemicals/products to be used by campus workers enables our office to procure Safety Data Sheets (Material Safety Data Sheets) for our "Safety Data Sheet" MSDS database.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Hazardous waste is collected, inventoried, and disposed of through contractors such as Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., Heritage Environmental Services, LLC., and Veolia Environmental Services. All wastes are collected, inventoried, and stored in the Chemical Management Building located at the north end of the Service Group. Disposals are coordinated from this location. Detailed lists are provided to the contractors. Disposals occur every 3 to 6 months, as SUNY Cortland is typically a Small Quantity Generator. The bulk of our wastes typically are Non-regulated. All records are kept on file in the Environmental Health and Safety Office. The greatest volume of Universal Waste on campus are CFL lamps. SUNY Cortland collects all CFL / fluorescent lamps, and recycles them through Northeast Lamp Recycling (NLR) ( http://www.nlr-green.com/). Lamps are managed intact. If a lamp is broken, it is managed as hazardous waste. All batteries generated on campus are collected and recycled. Lead Acid and Nickel Cadmium batteries are returned to the vendor. Lithium and alkaline batteries are collected and recycled through NLR. Pesticides are ordered and used in entirety. Old, unused, and/or outdated pesticides are recycled or returned to the vendor. Mercury containing devices are recycled. Switches and thermostats are replaced with electronic devices where possible.

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 campus Chemical Hygienist receives the list of chemicals/products for disposal, reviews the list and determine if another department might have a use for a chemical/product. The Hygienist contacts suppliers and manufacturers to determine if they will take back unused, unopened chemicals/products instead of disposing as hazardous waste.

Part 2 

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

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:
We recycle everything that has a plug. This includes Computers, printers, monitors, televisions, network equipment, scanners, fax machines, copiers AV equipment, laptops and more. Pick-ups of electronic recycling are coordinated through our Property Control Officer. Currently, we offer students the option to recycle electronic waste generated through the same academic / administrative / professional recycling of electronic devices administered by Property Control Officer. This is system does NOT have a formal process. We are developing a more formal policy to offer students the option for electronic recycling. Students and staff can also participate in the campus wide end of the academic year "move out" donation program. Through this program, electronic devices are offered for reuse within the Campus Community through an end of the year "garage sale".

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes

Optional Fields 

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:
8.97 Metric tons

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www2.cortland.edu/information/campus-safety/environmental-health/programs%2C-policies-and-procedures.dot

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.