| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88.80 |
| Liaison | Richard Demerjian |
| Submission Date | Aug. 11, 2021 |
University of California, Irvine
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Carrie
Metzgar Sustainability and Planning Analyst Campus Physical and Environmental Planning |
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:
UC Irvine 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 goal is to buy only what you need. If you don't buy it, you won’t have to get rid of it.
2. Implement and develop resource-efficient procedures
-- Waste minimization starts with using resources efficiently.
-- 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 fewer 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.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
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/disposal process at the EH&S Hazardous Waste Facility (HWF). Hazardous waste collected by EH&S 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 transported waste until it reaches the final destination and is safely disposed. EH&S maintains manifest documents, and completes all required regulatory reports.
UC Irvine utilizes UC system-wide approved hazardous waste disposal vendors. Stringent audits are performed to approve 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
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant hazardous material release incidents have occurred in the previous three years.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
UC Irvine has a robust chemical inventory system that allows users to designate chemicals as “surplus.” Surplus chemicals can be redistributed and used by others that need the chemicals.
UC Irvine’s Chemical Inventory, Biological, and Radio-isotope Tracking System (CiBR-Trac) http://ucirvine.ecompliance.net/index.jsp
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:
EQUIPMENT AND ELECTRONIC WASTE GENERATED BY UCI
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).
ELECTRONIC WASTE GENERATED BY STUDENTS
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.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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
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
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.