Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.23
Liaison Keaton Schrank
Submission Date Aug. 15, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Westminster University - Utah
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Kerry Case
Environmental Center Director
Environmental Center
"---" 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:
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.

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 biological 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 Salt Lake County Landfill Hazardous Waste Facility, 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.

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

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 (where possible). Industry Rules and Regulations are followed for inventory systems. (OSHA)

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:
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.

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:
2.11 Metric tons

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.westminstercollege.edu/about/resources/environmental-health-and-safety/emergency-preparedness#0

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.