Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.90
Liaison Hannes Gerhardt
Submission Date March 30, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of West Georgia
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.75 / 1.00 Hannes Gerhardt
Sustainability Director
Department of Geosciences
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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:
Chemicals are purchased through a centralized approval process. Among other parameters, purchases are reviewed to ensure quantities will actually be utilized, to avoid potential off-specification disposals, alleviate purchase duplication and, in some cases, to determine if a less hazardous chemical could be substituted.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UWG employs an Environmental Safety Coordinator whose duties include the diligent, legal management of all universal, hazardous and chemical waste. There are dedicated, secured stations for non-regulated chemical collection, hazardous waste and universal waste. These stations are monitored and managed by the EHS team in accordance with state and federal guidelines. Disposal of all hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste are managed in accordance with applicable EPA and EPD-GA statutes. Standard Operating Procedures have been developed and implemented to ensure safe handling. SOPs can be provided upon request.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
The University has not had a significant hazardous materials release in the past six years.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Chemicals disposal is managed centrally, with specific staff members made responsible for the appropriate disposal or reuse. Off specification chemicals are inventoried and advertised for reuse before disposal.

Part 2 

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?:
No

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:
Any electronic equipment that has a memory chip (i.e. data) is sent to an outside vendor for recycling: Premier Surplus who follow R2 standards. Other electronic equipment is sent to surplus where it is sold in bulk. This is in accordance with the Georgia Surplus Property Manual. There has been a program in place for Good Will to come and pick up Dorm left overs after students leave, which includes electronics. UWG also takes part in a local electronics recycling drive organized by the corporation Southwire. UWG students volunteer to run this event, and faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to drop off unwanted electronics here.

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

Optional Fields 

Electronic waste recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill or incinerator during the most recent year for which data is available during the previous three years:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.