| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.88 |
| Liaison | Laura Young |
| Submission Date | Feb. 11, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Michigan State University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Mary
Lindsey-Frary Industrial Hygienist II/S Environmental Health & Safety |
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:
Michigan State University uses various economically feasible minimization methods for different waste streams, including the following: consolidation of smaller wastes into drums to reduce the bulk of materials produced; elementary neutralization of corrosive materials; segregation of non-RCRA materials into separate waste streams; and return of discarded commercial chemical products to serviceable use on the main campus (for use as originally intended by manufacturer). For universal waste, the materials are collected and sorted, and then sent to a recycler. For special waste (coal ash), the university's Energy Transition Plan has goals in place to reduce the amount of ash from solid fuel combustion.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All hazardous and non-regulated chemical waste produced on campus or on off-site research stations is transported to MSU's regulated Waste Storage Facility (WSF) in vehicles which have been licensed by the Michigan Department Natural Resources and Environment. All containers of waste are properly labeled by the generator with the indentity of the waste - this information is compared with the color and consistency of the waste to ensure label accuracy. Trained hazardous waste professionals consolidate compatible wastes into 55-gallon drums and the drums are then picked up by a qualified outside vendor at regular intervals.
Universal waste, including used electric lamps, lamp ballasts, batteries and non-reusable electronic waste, is collected and properly stored on campus. The waste is then picked up by a qualified recyling facility who separates the various components for resale.
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:
When the hazardous waste professionals pick up chemicals that are in a reusasble condition, they may then offer these chemicals to other researchers in that building or store them at the Waste Storage Facility for future reuse before removing them as a waste. Researchers are also encouraged to purchase smaller quantities of chemicals to avoid excess waste quantities.
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):
Materials are collected and sorted by MSU Recycling and Surplus, then resold or sent to a local e-waste recycling processor. The processors site and downstream processes are reviewed periodically.
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 electronic waste is disposed of through the Surplus Store operation. Items that cannot be resold are recycled through a vendor. The Surplus Store operation began accepting electronic waste from students, faculty and staff in 2009.
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.