| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 63.61 |
| Liaison | Greg Kozak |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Northwestern University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Julie
Cahillane Manager of Sustainability and Resource Management sustainNU |
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:
The Office for Research Safety (ORS) trains all lab workers handling chemical and hazardous waste. The annual recertification program strongly emphasizes source reduction through purchasing only as much as is needed, sharing excess chemicals between labs, and stresses proper waste separation. Clean solvent wastes, that can be used for fuels blending and diverted from a chemical incinerator, are separately collected to prevent contamination with out of spec wastes. The internal Northwestern sewer disposal thresholds are set lower than the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District thresholds at the outfall stations.
The laboratory stores program does not offer volume purchase discounts, which encourages purchasing just the amounts needed. A free mercury thermometer exchange program is in place where labs can exchange mercury thermometers for non-mercury thermometers. Traditional film developing practices are phased out for lower waste digital technology. Irradiators based on high energy radioactive materials are phased out for electrically powered X-ray irradiators. The substitution of halogenated solvents with non-halogenated solvents is encouraged in research. Green Chemistry practices are taught and promoted in undergraduate labs.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The Office for Research Safety (ORS) is budgeted and programmed to safely dispose of hazardous, chemical, biological and radioactive waste. Best waste disposal practices are encouraged by providing the service free for compliant behavior. Lab workers request pickups online. ORS provides right sized waste containers for free, requires proper labeling of all hazardous materials and makes waste labels available. A liquid waste bulking process is in place that allows waste container reuse and reduces the amount of waste containers shipped for disposal. Northwestern also collects and recycles waste oil, pharmaceuticals, batteries, bulbs, and cathode ray tubes.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There have been no reportable hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years at Northwestern.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
All labs and non-lab settings are required to keep inventories of their hazardous chemicals. Most chemistry laboratories store organic chemicals by carbon number, which keeps order in large chemical collections and prevents over ordering. The shelf life of air or moisture sensitive chemicals is extended by glovebox storage in inert atmospheres. The departmental administrators encourage researchers to redistribute leftover chemicals and reuse of laboratory supplies. Certain broken laboratory glass ware is repaired by a glass blower instead of discarded. Helium gas is recovered and reused in most laboratories.
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):
All University-owned computer and electronic equipment is picked up free of charge. Our recycling program ensures that all data on the hard drive is destroyed and the equipment is recycled in a way that is compliant with EPA standards.
http://www.northwestern.edu/fm/services/computer-electronic-recycling/index.html
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
Our recycler, Vintage Tech, has e-Steward, R2 and ISO14000 certifications.
Vintage conforms to all R2 practices which fulfills OSHA and EPA requirements.
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.