Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 60.64
Liaison Amanda Kohn
Submission Date Feb. 13, 2024

STARS v2.2

University of Minnesota, Crookston
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

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?:
Yes

A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University of Minnesota Crookston Campus generates approximately 3,500 pounds of chemical waste on an annual basis (3-year average). The University has a dedicated program and staff on the Twin Cities Campus to pick up, transport, process, and dispose of this chemical waste system-wide in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. All chemical waste that is managed by the University is transported to the University's Fay Thompson Center for Environmental Management (FTCEM), which is a permitted hazardous waste storage and processing facility located on the Twin Cities Campus. Additionally, all University staff that generate hazardous waste are required to receive hazardous waste training. All areas (i.e., laboratories, shops) that generate hazardous waste are routinely inspected for compliance.

The University takes great effort to recycle as much hazardous waste as possible. For example, over the last 3 years 14% of chemical waste generated at UMC was recycled. The University has multiple policies and programs in place that promote waste minimization, examples include: Board of Regents Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Policy, and the Environmental Protection Policy.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University of Minnesota Crookston Campus generates approximately 3,500 pounds of chemical waste on an annual basis (3-year average). The University has a dedicated program and staff on the Twin Cities Campus to pick up, transport, process, and dispose of non-regulated chemical waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. All chemical waste that is managed by the University is transported to FTCEM, which is a permitted hazardous waste storage and processing facility located on the Twin Cities Campus. Waste is packaged into containers or tanks and shipped offsite to licensed hazardous waste disposal contractors. The vast majority of chemical waste managed at FTCEM is sent to contactors that have been approved by the Minnesota State Contract for Hazardous Waste. Environmental stewardship is always an important factor when selecting disposal options at FTCEM. For example, over the last 3 years, 14% of chemical waste generated at UMC was recycled and 7% of waste managed at UMC was sent for energy recovery as supplemental fuel.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
The University of Minnesota has had 5 recorded chemical spills/incidents in the last 3 years. None of these resulted in a significant release or negatively impacted the environment.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The University of Minnesota Crookston Campus does not have an inventory system for managing the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals. The University maintained a system like this for many years and found it to be unsuccessful. While these programs sound good on the surface, the reality is that most researchers do not want outdated or previously opened/potentially contaminated chemicals. However, departments are encouraged to share excess chemicals, particularly in the event of a lab cleanout (i.e., professor retires).

Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

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:
All electronic waste (e-waste) generated at the University of Minnesota must be collected for recycle. E-waste can include items such as:

-Computers
-Computer monitors and televisions
-Keyboards, mice, speakers, etc.
-Printers, scanners, copy and fax machines
-Laboratory equipment
-Any equipment containing a circuit board

All of UMC's electronic waste is collected and sent to the Twin Cities campus, which in turn is sent to a commercial e-waste recycler. The University of Minnesota outsources the recycling of used computer and electronics equipment to a third-party vendor, Dynamic Recycling, an environmentally friendly and secure vendor. The University of Minnesota Office Of Information Technology (OIT) has procedures in place to dispose of e-waste, which can be found on OIT's Computer Device Recycling and Donation page. https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/computer-device-recycling-donation

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes

Optional Fields 

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:
https://dehs.umn.edu/about-us

https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2019-09/policy_sustainability_and_energy_efficiency.pdf

https://policy.umn.edu/operations/environment

https://www.mmd.admin.state.mn.us/pdf/H-69(5).pdf

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.