| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.80 |
| Liaison | Corey Peterson |
| Submission Date | June 2, 2022 |
University of Tasmania
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Sustainability
Team UTAS Infrastructure Services and Development |
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 University's Chemical Management website (https://www.utas.edu.au/safety-and-wellbeing/information-and-documents/risk-topics/chemical-management) provides information in relation to the procurement, use, storage and management of hazardous chemicals, as well as appropriate disposal to reduce the likelihood of harm to our community and the environment. It also outlines responsibilities. Key principles for each category follow state and national acts, regulations and standards. Specifically, key principles for procurement mandate to "consider the hierarchy of controls when procuring chemicals, and consider using chemicals(...)", with elimination and substitution being the first control measures.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University's Chemical Management guidelines indicate that hazardous chemicals should not be procured or used unless a plan for disposal of waste and unused product is in place. The current University contractor for chemical waste disposal schedules regular collections, at least twice a year. Care is taken to appropriately segregate and not to mix incompatible chemical waste. The University has a number of hazardous chemical coordinators, who are responsible of ensuring chemicals are correctly stored, transported and disposed of.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant hazardous material release incidents ocurred during the previous three years.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
A manifest of all hazardous chemicals is kept and maintained in Chemwatch. Hazardous Chemical Coordinators are responsible for maintaining chemical manifests. An annual stocktake of hazardous chemicals is completed to facilitate accurate manifests.
In addition, chemical procurement key principles direct users to "avoid purchasing separate supplies of the same chemicals for different research groups. Instead, aim to share common supplies". Laboratory managers can use Chemwatch to look up chemicals across the University, allowing them to share chemicals, reducing the need to buy and storage risks. There is a strong network of chemical users at the University to assist with reducing risks and costs, whilst improving sustainability outcomes.
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:
Institution: The E-waste Disposal Process Guide provides a user friendly decission tree for univeristy computers, monitors, peripherals, cables , printers and other electricals. This guide targets zero tolerance of any items going to landfill, prioritising reuse (within the University or via donation to other organisations) and repair. Salvaging of parts for reuse is also considered before recycling (by a specialist recycler).
Students and staff: In December 2019 the University of Tasmania, with support from Hobart City Council, set up a pilot recycling wall for difficult to recycle items in the Social Sciences building on the Sandy Bay campus. Given the immediate success of the pilot wall, the service expanded to all Tasmanian campuses, with more than 20 recycing walls currently in place. Most of the walls include collection of batteries, mobile phones and e-waste. These items are then collected by University staff and deposited in local resource recovery centres, which dispose of these items appropriately.
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.