| Overall Rating | Bronze - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 41.59 |
| Liaison | Adam Maurer |
| Submission Date | Dec. 18, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Seattle Central College
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Adam
Maurer District Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
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 EHS manager works with the various departments to consider waste handling before purchasing a product, to hopefully eliminate the acquisition of hazardous material altogether. Central has a Pollution Prevention Plan that is required by the WA State Department of Ecology for medium-quantity generators (MQG) that requires Central to identify hazardous materials on campus. The majority of hazardous waste that is generated at this point is old legacy stock that is appropriately being purged.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
We have established waste streams for universal waste, scrap recycling, hazardous waste, and biomedical waste. Universal waste recycling includes fluorescent bulbs, batteries, and non-PCB ballasts. Those are contained per Department of Ecology guidelines in a specific area and picked up periodically by Total Reclaim/EcoLights. Hazardous waste is our highest volume stream. This is generated by several departments. There is a central waste collection area in BE and satellite areas in SAM and FA. These areas are maintained per Department of Ecology guidelines for medium-quantity generators (MQG). Clean Harbors picks up our waste on a quarterly basis. This includes “non-regulated chemical waste.” The state of Washington has two specific toxic waste codes – WT01 and WT02. It’s generally a catch-all for items that don’t designate as hazardous waste per the other WAC/EPA guidelines (toxic, corrosive, flammable, reactive) but that shouldn’t become general bulk waste. Biomedical waste in our case is just sharps (discarded needles, lancets, scalpel and utility knife blades, etc.). That is maintained in a central location in BE and picked up by Stericycle about twice a year. This is our smallest waste stream.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
In September of 2016, the Seattle Central EHS manager was notified by the Plant Science Lab staff (Greenhouse) that someone had spilled motor oil into the garden area from the parking garage. It appeared someone stood in the NW stairs of the garage and just threw/dumped the approximately 2 quarts of oil onto the adjacent portion of the garden. We removed the impacted soil and dry cleaned the shrubbery (and removed some) as best we could – there was some in a high portion of a tree on the leaves that was difficult to access. I called Ecology to report the spill release and talked to their Spill Response Team. They deemed our handling of the situation sufficient and accepted our report without further investigation.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
All of the labs are required to keep an up-to-date chemical inventory. I also direct them to only purchase what they will use in the relatively immediate future. I strongly discourage bulk purchasing of any chemicals. There is cooperation between the different disciplines to share chemicals that they all use instead of them each purchasing stock. There has been some movement of chemical stocks between the colleges in the district with the migration of offered classes, closing of programs, etc. I’m also working with our lab staff to generate more stringent controls and use of particularly hazardous substances and look for less hazardous alternatives, smaller volume experiments, etc. to reduce chemicals/their waste overall.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish 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), including information about how electronic waste generated by the institution and/or students is recycled:
All college/state owned computers are recycled by the IT Department through InterConnection, a 501(c)3 non-profit that refurbishes and ships computers and laptops worldwide. Additionally, small donation boxes are located on campus that also go to InterConnection for recycling and reuse.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
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:
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.