Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.43
Liaison Wesley Enterline
Submission Date Nov. 13, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Wesley Enterline
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Planning and Management
"---" 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:
https://www.uww.edu/adminaffairs/riskmanagement/waste/hazardous-waste-management-policy https://www.uww.edu/adminaffairs/riskmanagement/msds Hazardous substances and chemicals should be purchased in amounts commensurate with normal consumption rates. Excessive procurements of hazardous chemicals eventually creates large volumes of wastes that can endanger campus safety and the University's EPA/DNR regulatory status. The campus Hazard Communication Program requires that each employing unit of the University that uses or stores hazardous chemicals to obtain Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from the manufacturer or distributor. A copy of each MSDS obtained must be routed to the campus Risk Management and Safety Office for inclusion in the master MSDS file and entry into the master Chemical Inventory system.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
https://www.uww.edu/adminaffairs/riskmanagement/waste/hazardous-waste-management-policy https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/nr/600/661/_1?up=1 The Hazardous Waste Management Policy is established to aid the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in achieving and maintaining compliance with the hazardous waste regulation, NR 661 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. The NR 661 requirements include locating the waste sources on campus, evaluating the waste characteristics and controlling the substance from generation to final treatment and disposal. All hazardous waste is to be disposed of using only the contracts and contractors that have been approved by UW System Administration. Contracts currently in place are for waste incineration, landfill, management of highly reactive/explosive materials, and analytical testing. All waste shipments and contractor scheduling are coordinated with UW System Administration to reduce costs and maximize scheduling. Waste will be treated or disposed of only using facilities and sites that have been approved by UW System Environmental Health and Safety staff. https://www.uww.edu/adminaffairs/riskmanagement/waste/hazardous-waste-mini-guide The Hazardous Waste Mini-Guide is provided online so the necessary information is provided to employees to properly process and dispose of all hazardous chemical wastes. Information is provided on how to segregate, package, and label waste for pick-up and transportation to the campus Hazardous Waste Storage Building.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant incidents.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
https://www.uww.edu/adminaffairs/riskmanagement/waste/chemical-redistribution The Environmental Health, Risk Management, Safety, and Loss Control Department manages an inventory system and public listing of chemicals available for redistribution on campus.

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?:
Yes

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:
http://www.uww.edu/icit/policies-agreements/surplus-equipment http://www.uww.edu/icit/policies-agreements/repurposing-and-surplus http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/tech-surplus-sale Surplus Equipment Processing is the service for removing unwanted technology equipment from campus offices, labs and classrooms. Once removed, ICIT serves as a clearinghouse for the equipment, which is evaluated, and either kept for potential redeployment or recycled as part of the TREE (Technology Repurposing & Electronic E-cycling) program. Asset inventory is tracked and records are updated. Before computers are removed from campus, hard drives are cleaned and data are destroyed based on an industry-approved reformatting process; non-functioning hard drives are physically disassembled and destroyed. The intent of the surplus process is to ensure that computer equipment is not removed from campus while still having a useful purpose, and can be redeployed or put to use on campus for temporary needs or special projects. Along with this, the institution participates in battery and light bulb recycling. The battery recycling program covers lead-acid batteries used on campus. They are recycled in accordance with a state-approved recycling vendor. The light bulb recycling program covers fluorescent, low-pressure sodium, high-intensity discharge such as metal halide and mercury vapor, and incandescent bulbs. University Housing allows students to recycle electronic waste at all front desk locations. Additionally, a drop off location in the University Center allows the campus community to recycle batteries, media, small electronics, cables, and printer cartridges. The campus e-waste processor is URT: http://urtsolutions.com/

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:
19,041.81 Metric tons

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.uww.edu/sustainability/campus-initiatives/waste

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.