University of Central Florida
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

In UCF Policy 3-107.1 “Procurement, Use, and Possession of Hazardous Materials and Radiation-Producing Equipment,” the university outlines that purchased quantities of hazardous materials should be kept to a minimum and, when available, less hazardous alternatives should be used. Management of chemicals purchased, but no longer needed, is accomplished through UCF Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and the campus chemical reclaim (ReChem) program. When no longer needed within a laboratory or department on campus, all manufacturer’s bottles of hazardous materials are turned over to UCF Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and evaluated for their acceptance into the ReChem program. Suitable containers are adopted by ReChem and held by EHS incompatible, segregated storage. Hazardous materials from Operations units are offered to other departments that may utilize such materials (e.g. paints, oils, cleaners); a list of laboratory chemicals is offered to other researchers through the EHS database. Additionally, the ReChem program also enables all laboratory principal investigators (PIs) in need of a small amount of material to request that EHS determine if someone else on campus holds the material and is able to provide a donation.

Employees, faculty, students, tenants and contractors who generate hazardous, universal or non-regulated chemical wastes receive training as to the proper collection and storage of these materials. The EHS department collects these wastes from the generators and stores them at a central accumulation area. Here the wastes are segregated by type and, if practical, they are consolidated. All wastes are shipped off site for final disposal. Only vendors who are approved by EHS can transport, handle, treat or otherwise dispose of these wastes.

April 21, 2015 – Hydraulic fluid release from the elevator hydraulic system at the Biological Sciences building. Estimated to be less than 15 gallons release from buried hydraulic piping under the building. A monitoring well was installed down gradient from the building and no petroleum by-products were detected. The faulty piping was replaced. December 8, 2014 – Cooking oil release from a grease trap overflow at the Student Union. Estimated to be less than 100 gallons of oily water. SWS contractor skimmed oil from the surface of storm-water pond that contained the overflow. Grease trap maintenance was reviewed with operators.

UCF utilizes Environmental Health and Safety Assistant (EHSA) by OnSite Systems, Inc. to manage hazardous materials within laboratories on a container in/container out basis. Each container receives a bar code and is tracked from receipt to consumption or disposal. When no longer needed within a laboratory, all manufacturer’s bottles of laboratory chemicals that are turned over to EHS are evaluated for their acceptance into the campus chemical reclaim (ReChem) program. Suitable containers are adopted by ReChem and held by EHS in a storage facility. All laboratory principal investigators (PIs) have access to the ReChem inventory through their EHSA log on. Per Department of Homeland Security personnel surety requirements, lab personnel are given access to the inventory and ReChem at the request of their PI.

UCF’s surplus property program is managed by the department of Resource Management. The surplus property program has developed processes, procedures, and data management tools to effectively manage the reuse, resale, or recycling of electronic surplus property. The program’s online database program ensures that assets no longer needed by university departments are offered to internal departments for reuse, offered to non-profit organizations in the form of donations, or offered for resale to the general public prior to disposal through the university’s e-scrap recycler. A summary of the process follows: 1. An items that is no longer needed by a department is entered into the program’s online database by the responsible department’s property custodian. Photos, if available, may be uploaded with the listing. 2. Items posted to the website are available, at no charge, to internal departments for a period of ten (10) business days. 3. If an item is not adopted by an internal department within the ten day period, it is collected by the surplus property team and transferred to the surplus property warehouse for evaluation. 4. A team of technical experts and student assistants evaluate the item to determine if it is safe for sale to the general public, should be considered for donation, or if the asset has exceeded its useful lifespan or is unsafe and should be considered for recycling. 5. The recommendation for the intended means of disposal for the surplus asset is passed within the online data management system to the UCF Property Board for approval. 6. If approved by the Property Board, the asset is processed through the intended channel. 7. If not approved by the Property Board, the asset is sent back to the evaluation team for further consideration. Statistics are maintained for the following categories: 1. Sales to the general public 2. Donations to local non-profit organizations 3. Electronic scrap processed by the university’s recycling vendor For additional information and process guides, please refer to the attachments or visit the Surplus Property Program’s home page at the link provided below. UCF Facilities Operations’ Housekeeping & Recycling Services makes every effort to recycle electronic waste generated by the student residential population on the main and Rosen College campuses. At the end of each semester, more notably the end of the spring semester, donation containers are placed in all residential areas to gather not only electronic materials such as televisions, computers and printers, but clothing, dry goods and household items. These materials are given directly to the Bithlo Christmas Neighborhood Center for Families, which in turn pass these materials along to their clients in need. This program has been in effect since 2002 and to this day continues to provide much needed (recycled) materials to families in need in UCF’s surrounding communities of Bithlo and Christmas.

Part 1 Responsible Party: Renee Michel (Environmental Health & Safety) Part 2 Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or R2 standards? Our primary vendor, Test Gear Nation, is currently not enrolled. Our previous vendor, Creative Recycling Systems (CRS), was enrolled, but they ceased operations in late 2014. Diversified Asset Recovery, a company that we have an agreement with but do not currently use due to payment delays, is enrolled. UCF Surplus Property Program’s home page: http://www.rm.fs.ucf.edu/ENT/surplus/ UCF Surplus Property Program’s online auction site: http://www.govdeals.com/ucf