| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 51.72 |
| Liaison | Alex Frank |
| Submission Date | Aug. 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Wisconsin-Madison
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Alex
Frank Sustainability Analyst Office of Sustainability |
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:
In order to promote efficient use of resources, UW-Madison maintains a chemical redistribution program. This program catalogs and indexes surplus chemicals and makes them available, free of charge, to labs on campus. A list of available chemicals is maintained online (https://ehs.wisc.edu/chemical-redistribution/) and faculty or staff simply have to submit a request for use of the surplus materials.
Waste is also minimized by utilizing a system whereby labs dispose of waste into carboys. Carboys are retrieved by the Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) team when full. EH&S then consolidates the waste into drums (for disposal) and the carboys are cleaned and returned to labs. This process is designed to minimize contaminated container waste.
In conjunction with these efforts the EH&S team maintains programs to segregate regulated waste (including oil and mercury) from equipment. These efforts minimize total regulated waste by appropriately disposing and/or recycling the non-contaminated components of equipment.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The EH&S team at UW-Madison maintains a number of resources to ensure the safe disposal of hazardous waste.
EH&S maintains a recyclopedia (https://ehs.wisc.edu/recyclopedia/) with information on the appropriate disposal (or recycling) method for a number of hazardous materials, including:
- Animal Bedding
- Appliances
- Art Supplies
- Asbestos-Containing Equipment
- Batteries
- Biological Safety Cabinets
- Cleaning Products
- Empty Chemical Containers
- Empty Drums
- Fertilizers, Herbicides, Insecticides and Pesticides
- Fluorescent Light Tubes
- Gas Cylinders
- Lab Trash
- Light Ballasts
- Mercury & Mercury Containing Devices
- Paint & Paint Related Materials
- Pharmaceuticals
- Used Oil
- Radioactive Equipment & Devices
- Sharps
For items not covered in the recyclopedia EH&S maintains policies, procedures, and disposal request forms for Chemical (https://ehs.wisc.edu/chemical-disposalsurplus/), Biological (https://ehs.wisc.edu/biological-waste-disposal/) Radioactive (https://ehs.wisc.edu/radioactive-waste-disposal/), and Sharp (https://ehs.wisc.edu/sharps-disposal/) waste.
As a result of these programs, 130,000 of the 150,000 pounds of hazardous waste (87%) produced in 2018 was either recycled or recovered.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There have been no significant hazardous material release incidents 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:
The chemical retribution program (https://ehs.wisc.edu/chemical-redistribution/) maintains an inventory of available chemicals with the express purpose of encourage redistribution.
UW-Madison does not currently employ a comprehensive inventory system for managing chemicals.
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:
UW-Madison utilizes two programs for reusing and recycling electronic waste generated by both the institution and students.
Surplus with a Purpose (SWAP) is the designated agent for reselling and disposing of surplus property generated by UW-Madison and Madison Area State agencies. They maintain an electronics reuse and recycling program that accepts all computers and computer peripherals regardless of age or condition (https://swap.wisc.edu/policy-procedures/#computer-waste-recycling). Individual UW-Madison departments can arrange for the pick-up of electronic waste. Additionally, a number of electronic waste drop-off bins are placed across campus for student and institutional electronic waste. Items are either re-purposed by SWAP or sent to an e-waste recycler.
UW-Madison's Department of Information Technology maintains a central location on campus for faculty, staff, or students to drop-off electronic waste (https://it.wisc.edu/services/electronics-recycling/) including:
- Computers
- Monitors
- CD drives
- Hard drives
- Printers
- Power adapters
- CDs / DVDs
Both disposal programs are administered by Universal Recycling Technology which is e-Stewards certified (http://e-stewards.org/recycler/universal-recycling-technologies/).
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
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:
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.