Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.13
Liaison Eric O'Brien
Submission Date March 1, 2013
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.1

University of Northern Iowa
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Eric O'Brien
University Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

Found on pages 11-12 of linked document.

Waste Minimization Procedures
Institutions are encouraged by the EPA to explore alternatives that will minimize their
use of hazardous chemicals. Waste minimization not only saves the university money but
also promotes a safer work environment by minimizing the possibility of harmful
exposure and the chance of potentially dangerous accidents. Possible minimization
procedures are:
• Maintain a proper inventory of chemicals. This prevents ordering more chemicals
than needed. It also provides a system for the proper storage of chemicals as well.
• Order on an “as needed” basis or only order when the supply is nearly depleted.
• Never order in bulk unless it will be used in less than 1 year’s time. If you only
need a few grams do not order one kilogram. This ensures the chemical viability
and reduces storage space.
• Substitute hazardous chemicals with non-hazardous ones. Chemicals used for
cleaning glassware such as Chromic Acid can be replaced with non-hazardous
agents such as spark-leen or alconox.
• Whenever possible do not mix non-hazardous wastes with hazardous wastes.
When this occurs the non-hazardous waste becomes hazardous. Small quantities
of hazardous wastes mixed with non-hazardous wastes will also increase the
volume of waste produced.
• Use non-mercury containing equipment. Order either alcohol or digital
thermometers and barometers instead of those that contain mercury. Mercury
containing thermostats should be replaced with those that are digital.


A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

Information provided in pages 4-11 in linked document. Steps are somewhat different for various types of chemical waste.


The website URL where information about hazardous materials management is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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