Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 58.26
Liaison Caitlin McLennan
Submission Date Oct. 10, 2022

STARS v2.2

Utah State University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Dale Elwood
GIS-Emergency Coordinator
Environmental Health & Safety
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

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:
1. Chemicals and other materials are only purchased in usable portions.
2. If a chemical or material is no longer being used for its original purpose, efforts are made to reach out to others who may need or use it.
3. Universal waste is being reduced by changing over to LED lighting.
4. USU collects and recycles batteries used/spent by USU projects, research, and daily work activities. (Lithium, Nickel-Cadmium, Lead Acid, Alkaline, Nickel Metal Hydide)

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The Environmental Health and Safety Office at Utah State University generates, stores, transports and disposes of all regulated waste in strict accordance with chapter 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. All hazardous, universal and non-regulated chemical waste is disposed of through a licensed and state approved hazardous waste disposal contractor.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
USU did not have any significant hazardous material release incidents in the past 3 years.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
No official system is currently in use.

Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

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:
- Electronic waste if in working condition is transferred to others who may need it or it is sold at USU Surplus.
- All electronic waste that is not in working condition is sent to an electronic waste recycler.

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

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
https://research.usu.edu/ehs/

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.