Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.52
Liaison Lindsey MacDonald
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Western Washington University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Sue Sullivan
Director
Environmental Health and Safety
"---" 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:
Hazardous waste is managed in accordance with the Washington Administrative Code 173-303. The process of collecting hazardous waste from various locations on campus is described on EHS’s Chemical Waste website. The majority of Western’s hazardous waste is disposed of through the state contract holder for hazardous waste, Clean Harbors. http://www.wwu.edu/ehs/waste_recycle_disposal/chemical.shtml Universal waste, such as batteries, fluorescent lamps and mercury switches, is also managed according to the Washington Administrative Code 173-303. Western recycles waste as much as possible. The majority of WWU’s universal waste is disposed of through Clean Harbors, Ecolights NW, and Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC). Unwanted materials, such as light ballasts and oil, containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) are a federally regulated waste stream that Western has been addressing for several years. WWU received energy grants in 2008 to address replacing PCB ballasts on campus with more energy efficient and environmentally friendly electronic and non-PCB ballasts. WWU’s Facilities Management department continues to remove and replace PCB ballasts in the everyday operations of the university.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Western properly disposes of all toxic chemicals, whether they are identified in federal or state regulations or not. A few chemicals are disposed of via the sanitary sewer as they are broken down to non-toxic components in the digestion process. WWU seeks to minimize the presence of hazardous, universal and non-regulated waste materials on campus by providing an annual Pollution Prevention report to the Department of Ecology. The University works with Ecology to create attainable goals within certain time frames. These goals include reducing chemical use, substitution of highly hazardous chemicals with less hazardous chemicals, and education outreach.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
Not Applicable

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Western has an on-line chemical inventory system with a component for identifying chemicals that are able to be shared between users.

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:
A electronic waste bin is located in the bookstore, for batteries, cell phones, laptops, etc. The waste is collected by WWU Recycling Center. The Waste Disposal Matrix on the EHS website has some links to ReLectronics and Whatcom County’s Recycling Webpage. These two links contain information for individuals who would like to dispose of personal electronic waste responsibly. Links: https://fortress.wa.gov/ga/apps/ContractSearch/ContractSummary.aspx?c=09108 http://www.wwu.edu/ehs/EHS_files/forms/Waste%20Disposal%20Matrix%2004-08-10.pdf http://www.wwu.edu/fs/Stores/cs_ei.shtml

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:
http://www.wwu.edu/ehs/waste_recycle_disposal/recycle_disposal.shtml

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.