Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 79.54
Liaison Kelli O'Day
Submission Date June 20, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of California, Davis
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Kelli O'Day
Assessment Program Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

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:
UC Davis Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) has provided waste minimization training in e-learning and instructor-led formats for more than a decade. EH&S aggressively researches new techniques and waste treatment products to decrease the volume of hazardous wastes managed at UC Davis.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UC Davis Safety Services provides an interface between generators of regulated wastes (such as Principle Investigators and lab staff) and waste management staff through the Waste Accumulation Storage Tracking electronically (WASTe) site. Users create a tag for hazardous waste, which is picked up by hazardous waste staff and property disposed of at no additional charge to the user. Safety Services also provides helpful guidelines on a variety of wastes including hazardous and chemical waste. This information is available to campus users on its SafetyNets webpage. Rechargeable and Lead Acid Batteries are recycled through Interstate Batteries. Oil is recycled through Ramos Oil Recycling. Latex Paint is recycled through the Paint Care Program. All applicable Federal and State laws are followed in the management of hazardous wastes. UC tracks all hazardous waste shipments to ensure all waste is managed at approved facilities and with approved methods. Vendors are audited for both financial health and regulatory compliance. Additionally, UC Davis is an active participant in a UC systemwide group that evaluates disposal facilities used for UC Davis's waste streams. The group reviews the detailed reports for each facility and votes as a group whether or not to approve shipments to each facility. Facilities are reviewed on a 3-year basis.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
n/a

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The campus uses a chemical inventory system developed by UC Office of the President (UC Chemicals). The inventory system incorporates the ability to share or request to borrow chemicals from other users within defined permission levels. One added benefit of the permission levels is that a lab that shares chemical storage space with another is able to directly search their colleague’s inventory within the UC.

Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

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:
The office of Sustainability coordinates small electronic recycling through the campus multi-bin program which can be utilized by students, staff, faculty, and visitors. The multi-bin is a recycling unit in multiple centralized locations on campus. The units accept batteries, cords/chargers, cellular phones, small electronics, and inkjet cartridges. Students living on campus in residence halls can safely dispose of e-waste and other household hazardous waste (HHW) for free by contacting the Student Housing and Dining Services Sustainability team. Students living off campus in the City of Davis can take their e-waste to the nearby Yolo County Central Landfill. The Yolo County Central Landfill has a free HHW dropoff program for City of Davis residents. Electronics are recycled via CEAR (California Electronics Asset Recovery), a recycler that is certified under both e-Stewards and R2. Campus departments are required per policy PPM 350-80 to process all surplus equipment and supplies through Aggie Surplus. Marketable electronics are sold and placed back into reuse and unmarketable items are recycled by a contracted e-waste vendor.  These items are picked up by a campus labor group and transported to a staging area where they are sorted and locked in a secure location until picked-up by the vendor.  In addition, Aggie Surplus holds twice yearly ‘Free e-Waste Drop-off Events’ where campus staff and faculty can deliver department owned e-waste to the event location in order to save on labor costs for transportation.  About 30% of campus e-waste is collected at these events.

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

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
http://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
For more information, visit the following websites:
UC Chemicals: https://ehs.ucop.edu/chemicals/

UC Davis Hazardous Waste Management and Minimization: https://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/training/hazardous-waste-management-and-minimization

UC Davis Proper Ways to Dispose of Supplies and Equipment: https://supplychain.ucdavis.edu/procure-contract/stores/aggie-surplus/departments/disposal

UC Davis WASTe site for hazardous waste pickups: https://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/article/waste

UC Davis SafetyNets page: https://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/safetynet

Aggie Surplus: https://aggiesurplus.ucdavis.edu/

Aggie Surplus Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UC-Davis-Aggie-Surplus-131562763594974

UC Davis MultiBin locations on map: http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/sustainability/?s=recyc_multi_bin

California Electronic Asset Recovery (CEAR) Certifications: http://www.cearinc.com/sustainability-and-compliance/our-certifications/

UC Davis Household Hazardous Waste disposal guide: https://facilities.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6436/files/inline-files/Student%20Housing%20HHW%20Flyer_0.pdf

Yolo County Central Landfill, Electronic Waste: https://www.yolocounty.org/government/general-government-departments/community-services/integrated-waste-management-division/central-landfill/electronic-waste


Morgan Hickey, a Zero Waste Coordinator with the Office of Sustainability, assisted in compiling this credit response.

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.