University of California, Irvine
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

UCI believes that waste minimization is the cornerstone of pollution prevention. By establishing waste minimization guidelines and providing effective hazardous waste training, waste generators are able to: 1. Make effective purchasing decisions -- Effective waste minimization begins with effective purchasing decisions. The idea is to buy only what you need because if you don't buy it, you don't have to get rid of it. 2. Implement and develop resource-efficient procedures -- A starting point for waste minimization is being efficient in the use of resources. -- Use solvents and other hazardous materials sparingly. -- Monitor experimental reactions closely and add additional chemicals only as necessary. -- Emphasize water conservation by reducing rinse times where possible. -- Be alert for opportunities to save electricity. For example, don't leave equipment running when it's not being used. 3. Scale down experiments -- Reduce scale of experiment (and associated quantities of chemicals) where possible. -- Move to microscale chemistry. 4. Utilize less hazardous chemicals -- Use laboratory detergents rather than hazardous cleaning baths (e.g., substitute detergents for chromic acid solutions). -- Use non-halogenated rather than halogenated solvents (e.g., substitute cyclohexane for carbon tetrachloride). -- Use less toxic/hazardous solvents rather than more toxic/hazardous solvents.

The UC Irvine Hazardous Waste Management Program is responsible for management and oversight of campus wide plans, policies, and procedures to assure compliance with federal, state and local requirements regarding environmental management and hazardous waste. Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) picks up waste from laboratories and other waste generator sites on campus and manages the recycling or disposal process at the EH&S Hazardous Waste Facility (HWF). Hazardous waste collected by EH&S for disposal are properly labeled, segregated and stored. All hazardous wastes are then transported by a licensed hauler from the EH&S HWF to a permitted treatment storage disposal facility (TSDF). EH&S reviews the hazardous waste manifest documents, the waste hauler information, and the TSDF status prior to waste shipment. EH&S also tracks the waste until it reaches the final destination and is safely disposed. EH&S maintains manifest documents, and completes all required regulatory reports. The University utilizes UC system-wide approved hazardous waste disposal vendors and performs stringent audits to approve all hazardous and universal waste disposal facilities. These rigorous audits include reviews of: • Facility operations • Waste analysis • Manifest system • Waste management • Personnel safety • Regulatory compliance history • Inspection records • Financial stability • Liability insurance • Security

On June 17, 2016, UCI responded to an oil spill caused by a failed hydraulic line on a contractor’s concrete pump. Approximately 35 gallons of hydraulic oil had spilled. UCI hired a spill-response contractor to excavate and properly dispose of the contaminated soil. There were no injuries involved.

UCI has a robust chemical inventory system that allows users to designate chemicals as “surplus.” Surplus chemicals can be used and redistributed to others who need the chemicals. UCI’s Chemical Inventory, Biological and Radio-isotope Tracking System (CiBR-Trac) http://ucirvine.ecompliance.net/index.jsp

The Equipment Management Department through Peter’s Exchange Surplus Sales conducts a program for free pickup of surplus property including any equipment and electronic waste. This program is available to all departments on campus. All items are brought to the North Campus location, sorted and processed either for sale or recycle. Some items still in working condition are sold back to campus departments or to outside interests, some are sold for parts, and some are recycled. This program is designed to keep electronic waste out of the waste stream (Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle). See: https://portal.uci.edu/uPortal/viewXmlFile.jsp?cmsUri=public/Purchasing/EquipmentManagement/ChecklistSellingExcessProperty.xml UCI has a partial program for recycling electronic waste generated by students in the student housing areas. We have electronic waste bins at Verano Place graduate and family apartments, Palo Verde graduate and family apartments, and Mesa Court first-year housing community that students can use. We periodically empty these bins and bring items to our North Campus location, where they are sorted and recycled along with other electronic waste collected from campus.

Hazardous Waste and Electronic Waste are managed by different organizations on our campus. The responses to this credit were provided by: HAZARDOUS WASTE Kirk Matin Environmental/Hazardous Waste Manager Environmental Health & Safety (949) 824-4578 kmatin@uci.edu ELECTRONIC WASTE Helen Chang UCI Equipment Management Department Surplus Property and Equipment Management (949) 824-6111 hmchang@uci.edu