| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.75 |
| Liaison | Keaton Schrank |
| Submission Date | April 26, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Westminster University - Utah
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Rosanise
Odell Sustainability Fellow Environmental Center |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
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
None
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
In science classrooms and labs, chemicals synthesized in classes are re-used, not thrown away.
All lab chemicals are organized, labeled and kept in an online and written inventory.
None
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
-All chemical lab waste follows a Chemical Safety Standard Operating Procedure, which fulfills Federal Regulations.
-The majority of the chemical waste is collected from labs and auto-claved using the school's auto-claver. This sterilizes all waste and makes it non-toxic. It is then disposed of along with the rest of the trash.
- The (halogenated) chemical waste the school cannot auto clave is carefully stored in non-flammable locked closets. This is a comparatively small amount of waste (1 drum) which yearly it is taken to the Utah Health Department, where they process hazardous waste according to standards.
- All hazardous waste generated by Maintenance and Facilities is disposed of in accordance with Salt Lake County policy at their facilities.
-Westminster has a Chemical Hygiene Safety Plan (which adheres to OSHA standards) to get rid of all chemicals (both laboratory and institutional) which follows federal standards.
None
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There was an incident with Hydrogen cyanide (gas), the hazardous gas was detected and isolated in the lab. The building was evacuated, and the concentration of the gas was determined to be 1 part per 10 billion, below the EPA danger limit of 1 ppb. The lab was decontaminated by Westminster certified employees, and there were no injuries from the incident. All labs in the Meldrum science building are positive pressure labs, which means the air in each lab stays in that lab and the air doesn't circulate throughout the building.
None
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Chemical inventory log
- every chemical is labeled and tracked throughout the building
- all chemicals are used until they are gone
- log updated annually (new chemicals logged with locations known)
Reagent log book
- all chemical parents are kept and used
Minimization of chemical loss
- synthetic compounds and batches are created and broken down into constituent parts to be used again
Industry Rules and Regulations are followed for inventory systems
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s):
The Environmental Center holds an annual e-waste collection event at Earth Day each year for non-college owned items. Students are also allowed to bring e-waste to the Information Services Department year-round for the college to take care of. All college owned e-waste is recycled through Metech. Approximately 2,000 pounds of college owned e-waste is recycled yearly through this company.
http://www.metechrecycling.com/
Westminster's IT department removes plastic and metal from any electronics that are going to be recycled and recycles them separately. The electronics are then taken to Metech to be recycled.
None
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
All e-waste from college owned equipment or campus collection events is recycled with Metech. Metech Recycling received e-Stewards® Certification of all its facilities following rigorous, independent audits. Metech Recycling is the only Certified e-Stewards in Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, and Massachusetts. The e-Stewards Certification enables Metech Recycling to serve those who need electronics recycling services certified to the world’s top e-waste recycling standard. Metech is also responsible for biohazardous waste produced by Westminster College, if biowaste cannot be auto-claved, it is disposed of through the college's Chemical Hygiene Safety Plan (which follows OSHA standards).
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
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.