| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 50.39 |
| Liaison | Marianella Franklin |
| Submission Date | Aug. 28, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.75 / 1.00 |
Richard
Costello, PhD Director Environment Health and Safety |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
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
None
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UTPA has a waste minimization plan to reduce the hazardous waste. The department of Environmental Health and Safety provides oversight for the generation, treatment, and disposal of all hazardous waste streams on campus. The staff will collects and disposes all the hazardous waste throughout the university. The University's priority is not just the reduction in the amount of materials that are currently listed hazardous wastes, but includes the reduction of non-hazardous, exempt and non-regulated waste. these wastes are currently recycled instead of being destroyed or land filled.
The following are the waste reduction projects in the university:
1. Mercury waste reduction in Fluorescent Light Bulbs.
2. Reduction of Paint and Pain Thinner Related Wastes.
3. Reduction of Non-halogenated Solvent Wastes.
4.Reduction of Corrosive Wastes.
5. Reduction of Toxic Wastes.
All hazardous materials purchased by the university cannot be purchased without the direct approval from the Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
None
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Disposal of laboratory related waste, medical/biological/infectious waste and facilities related waste throughout the campus is facilitated by either using the hazardous waste line or by email. They have to provide the following information in their message: Name, Building and Lab room number, Type and volume of waste. The following are the storage mandates:
1. Waste must be placed in compatible containers.
2. Containers must be closed all time.
3. Waste must be labeled with a term describing the waste contained in the container.
None
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No incident take place.
None
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
---
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
No
None
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s):
The electronic waste generated by all the departments is collected and taken from campus to Surplus, where many items are refurbished for reuse. Items that are surplus to one department are made available to all other departments who may claim them on a "first come first served" basis, at no charge. Items that are declared surpluses are recycled or made available to state agencies, or other non-profit agencies. Surplus recycles 90% of its old computers back into the market.
None
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
The UTPA Surplus property department gathers all the electronic waste in the university. All employees are trained by Environmental Health and Safety to protect workers personal rights.The Surplus department maintains an effective and fair system of Surplus property control by complying with university, state and federal regulations. All the third party recycling companies has to provide their certification to the surplus property department to ensure that all the electronic waste handled is complying with environmental standards.
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.