Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 38.93
Liaison Veronica Johnson
Submission Date May 10, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Southwestern University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Michael DeLance
Director of Campus Safety & Risk Management
Safety Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:
Yes

A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

Department generators are required to verify use of existing chemicals before purchasing more, develop a departmental policy and clean out unused chemicals, substitute for non-hazardous chemicals when possible, offer and transfer unused stock chemicals to other departments, eliminate unknowns by properly labeling chemicals, and to dispose of used chemicals and their containers properly.


A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

Hazardous waste is disposed of in a variety of ways including in biohazardous waste disposal bins, in the trash compactor at Physical Plant, or in the properly labeled waste bin after sterilization. Non-regulated chemical waste may be properly disposed of in a couple of ways: drain disposal per Brazos River Authority guidelines or boxed within a cardboard box and picked up by Physical Plant.


A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:

n/a


A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:

n/a


Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes

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:

When an electronic device has lived it's life where it was meant to, it is then moved down the line to kiosks that are placed around campus or into student worker offices. After Southwestern University is done with a device, it is recycled through IT Recycling Group, a local company from Hutto, Texas. Computers that are retiring from use in the institution are refurbished, re-imaged with Spanish software, and sent to either Honduras or Costa Rica through a Save the Children program. Each shipment of computers sent by the institution affects over 4,000 students and adults in those countries.

Students are encouraged to send empty inkjet cartridges and used cell phones in a pre-paid envelope to Petsmart Charities recycling program, where 100% of proceeds goes to Petsmart Charities.


Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
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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:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.