| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 47.51 |
| Liaison | Chris Frantsvog |
| Submission Date | May 1, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Luther College
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Stratis
Giannakouros Assistant Director of the Center for Sustainable Communities Environmental Studies |
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?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Micro experiments techniques are used in lab whenever possible. This means that the smallest amount of each chemical possible is used when performing a lab. Luther also has kept a log of the hazardous waste generated by the college for past five years.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Luther College contracts with Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., to safely dispose of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated waste. Safety-Kleen regularly completes a part-washer of all machines on campus, using a water-based cleaner to safely break down chemicals accumulated on the machines. There is also an annual hazardous material lab pack, during which Safety-Kleen collects all Luther's hazardous chemicals from various faculty, staff, and labs and properly disposes of it. Luther also keeps all Material Safety Data Sheets, which are obtained when purchasing products containing hazardous chemicals. These data sheets provide a record of every chemical used on campus, describe each chemical, its properties, all the effects it can have on the body, and how to properly dispose of it.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
None
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
There is no formal system at present, but the chemistry and biology departments repeat the same or very similar experiments each year, and thus often coordinate so that the waste product produced in one lab can be recycled and utilized in another lab experiment.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s):
Luther’s institutional computer recycling program is not open to individuals, functioning solely as the recycler of institutional electronic equipment. To supplement the recycling program, Luther LIS created an online auction site (http://lisauction.luther.edu). Items such as computers, monitors, printers and keyboards that are obsolete for Luther’s purposes but still in too good of condition to be recycled are sold on the site and sent away for reuse. Midwest Electronic Recovery and other recycling programs pick up a truckload of recyclable items ranging from CRT computer monitors, overheads, circulation desk check-out dorm switches,to slide projectors. Cell phones are recycled through Wireless Alliance. Light bulbs are picked up by Retrofit Recycling. Batteries and printer cartridges are also recycled.
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
Luther LIS addresses the issue of outdated technology hardware and runs a computer recycling and waste reduction program for environmentally friendly disposal of obsolete technology equipment. “All electronic devices should be recycled appropriately, as they can contain materials which, if placed in a landfill or disposed of in other standard ways, could result in environmental pollution,” said Chris Barth, executive director of Luther’s LIS. Old computing equipment is sent to agencies that ensure it is recycled responsibly. It was sent to Winneshiek County Recycling. Equipment that must be recycled is properly stored until enough is collected to send to a recycling center. Reusable items are sold on the LIS Used Technology Equipment Auction. From time to time LIS also recycles LIS-owned equipment through other vendors. Most recently we worked with Midwest Electronic Recovery, because our local county facility will no longer take Electronics from commercial businesses.
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.