| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.66 |
| Liaison | Eric Boles |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Arkansas
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Eric
Boles Director Office for Sustainability |
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:
Hazardous waste is reduced by requesting departments to only buy what is needed coordinating hazardous material purchases through Central Supply. A comprehensive on-line chemical inventory system is available through Environmental Health and Safety.
The University of Arkansas successfully decommissioned an old nuclear reactor in 2019 which had been donated to the UA.
https://news.uark.edu/articles/47980/sefor-cleanup-work-finished-u-of-a-awaiting-final-approval-from-state
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University of Arkansas collects hazardous waste from all laboratories and facilities on campus, provides temporary storage of the waste in an approved facility, and delivers it to a licensed Hazardous Waste Transporter, which delivers it to a licensed remediation/destruction facility. All hazardous waste generated by the University is tracked from collection through destruction or remediation. Records of disposal are maintained by EH&S. Universal waste is recycled by a licensed recycling facility or disposed of as hazardous waste. Non-regulated chemical waste that could be harmful to the environment or to people is treated as hazardous waste and disposed of accordingly. The transporter assures disposal is carried out in an approved manner and reports the same to the University.
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:
There are scheduled chemical waste pick-ups, depending on the substance a protocol is in place to help separate the chemicals into their current chemical state before redistribution.
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 UA has an e-waste drop-off location on campus that can be used by anyone with e-waste. Items dropped off will either be recycled or refurbished.
Electronics owned by the UA must go to UA Surplus, who either decommissions and recycles the units or they sell it at auction.
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.