Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.78
Liaison Lisa Mitten
Submission Date March 8, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

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

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 David Serino
Assistant Director
Office of Environmental, Health, and Safety
"---" 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:
Fine Arts has been provided with SAA Waste Receptacles for the collection of solvent soaked rags. Instead of disposing as hazardous waste, a program has been established to have these rags cleaned by a licensed facility and delivered back to the department for re-use. Approximately 75 pounds of solvent soaked rags are cleaned and returned to the Arts Department on a weekly basis.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
SUNY Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) should be contacted to remove excess waste from Satellite Accumulation Areas. There are currently 30 SAAs located on campus. EHS performs monthly inspections of these areas and collects waste for proper disposal. The collected waste is transported to the Hazardous Waste Storage Area located across from the Central Heating Plant. All stored wastes are segregated, labeled and stored as required. In accordance with state and federal regulations, all stored hazardous wastes are picked up and disposed of every six months by a licensed hazardous waste hauler. All applicable Hazardous Waste Manifests are kept on file in the EHS Office and submitted to NYSDEC as required, ensuring “Cradle to Grave” disposal of all hazardous wastes produced on campus.

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:
Inventory systems are used by both the Biology and Chemistry departments to keep track of chemical inventory used in labs and research. Students are asked to perform additional reactions in a given experiment so that the resulting material or solution is no longer hazardous and can be disposed of without treatment. The Biology and Chemistry Departments use a shared chemical database which identifies the type of chemical and its exact location within Coykendall Science Building. Faculty from either department can search the database to determine if the reagent is already on hand. This system allows the two departments to more efficiently use our chemical stocks and to minimize redundancy when ordering new supplies.

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:
Residential students drop off e-waste at their RA offices and RAs store the materials in designated e-waste bins. Custodial staff pick up e-waste from RA offices every two weeks. For large e-waste items that do not fit into the bins, RAs request pickup via the work order system. Faculty and staff request pickup of e-waste via the work order system.

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:
8.32 Tons

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.