University of California, Los Angeles
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Nurit
Katz Chief Sustainability Officer 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:
The Hazardous Waste Minimization Program aims to reduce the amount of hazardous waste generated at UCLA. Waste minimization is accomplished by establishing both administrative and operational procedures: Purchasing Control (using surplus supplies, buying only the quantities needed for projects, etc.), Inventory Control (oromoting sharing among common users, rotating chemical stock to keep chemicals from becoming outdated, etc.) and Operational Control (substituting out hazardous materials for safer alternatives when feasible, avoiding mixing hazardous and non-hazardous waste, etc.). More details on UCLA's hazardous waste reduction methods may be accessed at https://ehs.ucla.edu/waste/management/hazardous-waste-minimization.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UCLA Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) runs a Chemical Hazardous Waste (Hazwaste) Program (https://ehs.ucla.edu/hazardous-waste) to manage the disposal of chemical waste that is considered ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic. Staff are available as consultants for the identification, labeling and packaging of chemical hazardous waste in accordance with federal and state regulations, and UCLA policy. Services offered include Hazardous Chemical Waste Pick-Ups for Research Labs, Chemical Surplus Redistribution & Mercury Thermometer Exchange, and Laboratory Chemical Clean-Outs.
In addition to consultations, the EH&S Hazwaste Team performs (daily) on-campus and (monthly) off-campus waste collection. The hazardous chemical waste pick up is a routine service provided for research laboratories on UCLA campus: https://ehs.ucla.edu/waste/services/hazardous-waste-schedule. Waste types not accepted for routine pick-up are Biological Waste and Medical Wastes (https://ehs.ucla.edu/waste/services/medical-waste), Radioactive Wastes (https://ehs.ucla.edu/waste/radiation-disposal), Controlled Substances (https://ehs.ucla.edu/controlled-substance-waste) and Universal Waste (https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/universal-waste/). These wastes have their own required policies and procedures, which involve specific training, registration and/or scheduling.
UCLA additionally utilizes the UC system-wide Waste Accumulation Storage Tracking electronically (WASTe) to ensure that hazardous chemicals are disposed within 90 days: https://ehs.ucla.edu/waste/services/creating-waste-tag. Labs have a designated container location to store hazardous chemical waste, which can only be stored for 90 days. All containers must be disposed of within 90 days, no matter how full. Frequent disposal ensures that amounts of waste stored in labs are kept to a minimum.
Additional policies and programs
Drain Disposal - UCLA does not permit drain disposal of chemical wastes, unless a specific dilution and/or neutralization method for a consistent waste stream has been reviewed and approved by EH&S. Drain disposal of properly disinfected infectious or bio-hazardous liquids is acceptable, if disinfection is conducted as specified by the EH&S Biosafety Program, and the liquids disposed contain no other hazardous constituents.
Mercury Thermometer Exchange Program - EH&S will exchange mercury thermometers with non-mercury thermometers free of charge.
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:
EH&S runs a Chemical Surplus Redistribution Program (https://ehs.ucla.edu/waste/management/hazardous-waste-minimization/chemical-surplus) at no cost for the UCLA research community. Many labs on campus dispose of unused chemicals. Requesting chemicals is easy. There is an inventory system available to view surplus chemicals available: https://ehs.ucla.edu/chemical-inventory-system
People complete a request form and, once EH&S confirms the availability of the item(s) requested, they coordinate as part of routine pick-ups for designated buildings. Labs also maintain their own material inventories and add surplus materials they pick up to those databases.
UCLA EH&S also sponsors a Mercury Thermometer Exchange Program, where mercury thermometers may be turned in for non-mercury thermometers free of charge: https://ucla.app.box.com/v/ehs-thermometer-exchange.
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Many researchers bring unused chemical products to the hazardous waste pick up. In order to minimize waste disposal while making use of valuable chemicals, EH&S has implemented a surplus chemical redistribution program. On the EH&S website there is a list of chemicals in the Surplus inventory, which are available at no cost to the campus researchers. The inventory is updated monthly, and researchers review the inventory and request materials via email. EH&S delivers the chemicals to their laboratory free of charge.
A smaller chemical surplus inventory is also located in the Chemistry department. This program is managed by the Chemical Safety Officer and is inventoried and inspected regularly to ensure safe chemical storage. Researchers drop off and pick up partially used containers of inorganic salts and other non-reactive, non-flammable materials, for use in the organic chemistry department. This allows researchers access to many compounds that they may only use in very small quantities.
Laboratories also maintain an electronic inventory of their own materials, and we encourage researchers to share material that may be useful to other researchers prior to disposal through EH&S
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:
E-waste recycling for the UCLA community is primarily handled by our Facilities Management Department. UCLA campus departments may request pick-up through an Electronic Waste Recycling Request Form (https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/zero-waste/recycling-request-form/). Materials and instructions online specify the accepted vs. non-accepted materials for e-waste and how, where and when pick-up is conducted. To achieve highest and best use of materials, UCLA has partnered with human-I-T to refurbish electronic waste (including lab equipment) rather than sending the materials to be recycled. The refurbished products will be provided to low-income individuals, under-served communities, and nonprofits in need of technology, internet, and digital training. The remaining non-salvageable goods will be recycled through a certified process.
For any non-campus department groups (including the general public) looking to recycle e-waste, they may visit the Los Angeles Sanitation S.A.F.E. Center located at UCLA. Additionally, UCLA Health Facilities should coordinate with their Sustainability counterparts, and students living in on-campus residence halls ("The Hill") may bring universal waste to residential hall lobbies for disposal.
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:
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.