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

“ The College at Oneonta has implemented an aggressive plan to eliminate or reduce many laboratory chemicals in store rooms and laboratories. Our schedule is driven in part by the planned renovation of our science buildings. A reduction in inventory for both science buildings will make temporary relocation of classes and laboratories easier and safer.

By May of 2006 all unneeded our overstocked chemicals in Science 1 building will have been identified and removed. During the re-occupation of the building in the summer of 2008, only those chemicals necessary for instruction and research will be brought back into the building. During the following years all chemicals in the Physical Science building (Science 2) will be evaluated. This will help with the planned renovation of this building in 2014.

The College at Oneonta will evaluate reducing the volume of hazardous waste during the year 2006 and subsequent years using by exploring the use of alternative substances. The College has empowered the chemistry laboratory assistant and the Chemical Stores Clerk to review the quantity of laboratory chemical purchases and to review general facility purchases of chemicals in advance of placing orders and to explore alternative substances and substitutes that will not generate hazardous wastes. That may not be possible in many cases, particularly where specific chemicals must be used and specific experiments must be conducted as part of classroom education."

The College at Oneonta is committed to excellence in protecting the environment and the environment of its faculty, staff, students, and the College community. In keeping with this policy, our objective is to reduce waste and emissions, and to minimize adverse impacts on the air, water and land. By successfully reducing waste and emissions, we will have maintained a safe and healthy campus. We will continue to look for opportunities to prevent pollution and minimize hazardous waste. The College believes that all faculty, staff, administration, students, and staff are entitled to a safe and healthy campus. To ensure this ideal, we will commit resources to aggressively remove recognized hazards, provide education and training, provide appropriate personal protective equipment, as well as hold administrators, faculty, staff, students, and patrons responsible for good health and safety practices. The College at Oneonta's Universal Waste Protocol includes the following:

Batteries-
Any batteries that show evidence of leakage or spillage must be contained. The container must be closed, structurally sound and compatible with the contents of the batteries. Batteries or the container they are stored in must contain the following phrase: Universal Waste- Batteries and the date the battery was accumulated.

Thermostats-
Universal waste thermostats will be stored in the volatile storage area, labeled universal waste thermostat, and dated with the accumulation date. They will be removed with the hazardous waste shipment.

Lamps-
Fluorescent lamps will be placed in boxes that are structurally sound, preferably large round tubes supplied by Northeast Lamp Recycling, or the boxes they came in. The boxes must remain closed. The boxes must have a label with the following phrase:
Universal Waste Lamps, and the date the lamps were accumulated.

Compact Fluorescent bulbs-
These bulbs will be placed in a box that is structurally sound and kept closed. The boxes must have a label with the following phrase: Universal Waste Lamps, and the date the lamps were accumulated.