Florida State University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management

By law, the University is required to strive to reduce the amount of hazardous waste it generates; therefore, University personnel are directed to take the following measures:
• Buy only those amounts of hazardous materials which can be used before the expiration date of the material.
• Use up the hazardous material completely for the purpose for which it is intended.
• When finished with a stable and uncontaminated product, determine if someone else in the department has a legitimate need for, and can use, the product.

RCRA hazardous and select non-regulated wastes are handled by first ensuring that all personnel who may use chemical products which may become hazardous wastes are trained on proper hazardous waste collection and storage at least annually. Suitable waste collection containers are provided, free of charge by EH&S, as they are needed. These containers are labeled, kept closed when not in use and located in designated areas near the point of generation. When finished with the containers or they reach ¾ full, EH&S picks them up and moves them to a central storage facility where they are logged into a database, placed in secondary containment and segregated for eventual off-site shipment. Usually every two months or when quantities warrant and never more than every 90 days, EH&S contacts EPA licensed contractors and arranges for them to come to our facility, stabilize and package the chemicals appropriately for transport and take them to a properly licensed disposal facility. After these wastes are rendered non-hazardous, through destruction or other means, EH&S is provided with a certificate of disposal which is kept for at least 3 years along with copies of all other generated paperwork.

Universal wastes are handled similarly though the collection, packaging and paperwork requirements are less stringent, since they are going to be recycled versus being destroyed. These wastes are either transported to a local recycling center directly (i.e. - Interstate Battery or VEOLIA Environmental, Inc.) or arrangements are made for pick-up by a recycling company (i.e. a used oil company). This waste is still tracked and the paperwork is also kept for at least 3 years.

In September 2012, approximately 260 gallons of diesel fuel were released from the day tank serving an emergency generator at a Regional Data Collection center. This fuel spilled on the generator’s concrete pad and the soil/asphalt surrounding it. This occurred due to a faulty fuel float in a poorly designed system. At the time, the facility was not owned/operated by FSU but the land and surrounding properties were the responsibility of the University so the University assumed ultimate responsibility. The design flaw has since been corrected to alleviate future occurrences. The spill was immediately contained, the State of Florida Warning Point was notified and environmental specialists from the University and the State of Florida responded. An emergency response company that specializes in petroleum spill cleanup was contracted to perform immediate response, assess and cleanup all accessible areas that were impacted. Over 340 cubic yards of soil and asphalt were removed during this phase. A second company, already under contract with the State of Florida, was contacted to perform a third-party Site Assessment Report. They determined that the risks are still present but minimal, due to some inaccessible contaminated soils, and recommended the University pursue “No Further Action with Controls” protection for this area in accordance with Florida Statutes. This process was completed in accordance with those recommendations in June 2014.

None, the University has been investigating RFID or scanner labeling of all incoming products to be able to perform periodic chemical inventories in a safe manner with minimal handling. The hardware and software is available and the cost is expensive but not prohibitive. The main reason for not adopting implementing this program is the lack of a centralized receiving point for these products and the inability to control new materials entering campus. Remedies to this are actively being pursued as part of our chemical procurement contract renegotiation.

When electronics become obsolete, uneconomical, inefficient, or no longer serves a useful function, the department may request the property be classified as surplus. Only Major or Minor Accountable property that is in working condition, or which has parts that are valuable and may be readily used or sold, should be classified as surplus. Property which is unsafe for further use or which has no value should NOT be classified as surplus and disposed of via a certified electronics recycler.

The FSU recycling department collects non-working electronic equipment from all departments thought-out campus and electronics not sold after a surplus sale. The electronics are delivered to the FSU recycling facility where the equipment is stacked on pallets, wrapped with plastic wrap, loaded onto a truck and delivered to an approved recycling vendor. This process eliminates time and labor-intense process of sorting the equipment and eliminates the electronics from ever reaching the local landfill.