University of California, San Diego
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

California Senate Bill (SB) 14 is the Hazardous Waste Source Reduction and Management Review Act of 1989. SB 14 requires hazardous waste generators to seriously consider source reduction as the preferred method of managing hazardous waste. Source reduction is preferable over recycling and treatment options because source reduction avoids waste generation costs and management liability. Source reduction also provides the best protection for public health and the environment. UC San Diego has developed and implemented a hazardous waste source reduction program in accordance with this act. UC San Diego works with vendors to provide the campus with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) approved alternatives to be used in laboratories and medical centers, such as alternatives to ethidium bromide. EH&S staff provide training and information about ways to reduce and recycle hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste to laboratories using electronic newsletters, hazardous materials handling and environmental protection training, and periodic laboratory inspections.

UC San Diego’s Environment Health & Safety (EH&S) Department annually reviews hazardous waste streams composed of chemical, radiological and biohazardous constituents to reduce toxicity, decrease volumes, and recycle wastes. All chemical waste recycling or disposal is managed through the UC San Diego Environmental Health and Safety office (EH&S). In most cases, EH&S picks up waste from a collection location or generator site and manages the recycling or disposal process for that waste at the Environmental Management Facility (EMF). Hazardous materials collected by EH&S for disposal are packaged and labeled properly, which includes segregating incompatible materials, placing them in appropriate sealed containers, and identifying all components with approximate concentrations. Chemical wastes are further segregated by type, and consoidated, bulked, or compacted before a licensed hauler transports them from the campus to permitted off-campus facilities for disposal. Some special projects may require a department to contract directly with a waste disposal vendor. In these cases, any waste removal must first be approved by EH&S. EH&S comprehensively reviews the waste manifest documents, the waste hauler information, and the disposal facility status prior to waste shipment. EH&S also tracks the waste until it reaches the final destination and is disposed. EH&S maintains manifest documents, as required by state and federal regulations, and produces documentation during regulatory agency audits. UC San Diego also pays annual hazardous waste taxes based on the volumes of waste disposed. It should be noted that UC San Diego is not permitted as a disposal facility and thus does not dispose of chemical hazardous wastes on the site. Within 90 days, the waste is shipped off the campus by licensed transporters for recycling, treatment and/or disposal at licensed treatment storage or disposal facilities in California and other states. Refrigerators are deactivated, hazardous substances removed, and the framework recycled as scrap metal. CRTs are deconstructed, batteries are shredded, and precious metals recovered for reuse.

There have not been any hazardous material releases at UC San Diego.

ChemCycle is UC San Diego's chemical recycling facility operated by Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S). UC San Diego researchers can obtain and donate unopened, free chemicals. Staff involved in the campus-wide Green Labs program are currently working to upgrade the IT-support and integration into the campus-wide Marketplace buying system for the program.

The disposal of monitors, televisions, and other electronic devices owned by UC San Diego is managed through the Campus Asset Management System (CAMS). More information about the policy can be found on the following link: http://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/equipment/inventorial/dispose/surplus.html UC San Diego’s Housing and Dining Services has developed a website that provides resident students specific information on how to recycle batteries within their residence halls or apartment community. The website streamlines the process using illustrations, links, and maps. https://hdh.ucsd.edu/sustainability/pages/WhatToDo.html

All campus-owned and generated e-waste goes through Surplus Sales, which sends its e-waste to IMS in Poway, CA. IMS is R2 Certified. E-waste recycled or otherwise diverted data are for Fiscal Year 2017 and what was resold or recycled through Surplus Sales. Surplus Sales contacts: Stephen Van Duine, Mark Ortiz