Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.87
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Dec. 23, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Washington, Seattle
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 John Wallace
IH2
EHS
"---" 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:
The University of Washington's Environment Health & Safety department handles the different types of wastes mentioned in this credit. Hazardous waste, universal waste and non-regulated chemical waste programs are in place. Policies, programs and guidance on hazardous waste are available, as well as processes to manage these materials.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UW has trained staff that help identify and manage dangerous waste for disposal. These staff work on training, identification, classification, collection, disposal of and tracking of waste.
EH&S is responsible for the collection of hazardous chemical waste for the University, including all campuses and off-site locations. Guidance on waste collections can be found at the following link: https://www.ehs.washington.edu/chemical/hazardous-chemical-waste-disposal

All hazardous waste at the University of Washington that is not reused, recycled or treated is sent to permitted hazardous waste recycling and disposal facilities. The waste streams listed are incinerated at high temperature. Detailed information on chemical waste management can be found at the following link: http://www.ehs.washington.edu/chemical-safety

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There was a release of 454 gallons of diesel fuel into navigable waters on 3/5/18. Resolved NFA.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
UW has a robust chemical tracking system called MyChem. Its use is required for chemicals and chemical-containing products at all UW facilities. The Chemical Exchange program allows MyChem users to share unused chemical inventory to save money and reduce waste.
https://www.ehs.washington.edu/chemical/chemical-exchange

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

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 items purchased with university monies or given to the University that are no longer needed by a department whether they are in working or non-working condition, must be transferred to UW Surplus for resale, recycling, or disposal. UW Surplus is a self-sustaining department. It receives no direct state funding and must generate revenue to cover all costs. UW Surplus revenue is generated through sales of items transferred from departments.
https://facilities.uw.edu/uw-surplus/

The UW contracts with Electronics Recyclers International to provide collection and recycling of electronics, computers, monitors and peripherals. UW Recycling provides a number of eMedia recycling bins on campus to collect electronic media, small personal electronics, printer cartridges, batteries and magnetic media for recycling. https://facilities.uw.edu/bsd/procedures/emedia

Students can dispose of electronics during the MoveOut program (SCRAM), electronics are donated to local non-profits for reuse/resale.

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

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.