| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.57 |
| Liaison | Rebecca Collins |
| Submission Date | Dec. 14, 2023 |
Temple University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.75 / 1.00 |
Rebecca
Collins Director of Sustainability 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 Environmental Health and Radiation Safety office has developed a robust program for the management of chemical waste generated from university laboratories, support services and operations. The purpose of the program is to protect the safety of students, employees, and visitors, protect the environment and to comply with federal, state, and local regulations. EHRS has developed a chemical waste minimization and pollution prevention program to reduce the volume and toxicity of the waste generated on campus.
Temple University manages its waste in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations. The University has comprehensive waste management program which utilizes various strategies (training, handbooks, guides, handouts, posters, audits, etc...) to safely manage and minimize its regulated and non-regulated chemical waste. The University has a robust chemical waste minimization program in place. Traditional means of minimization such as purchasing control, operational control, source reduction and inventory and storage controls are used at the University. The University also has successful utilized a mercury thermometer exchange program, chemical redistribution program, solvent recycling program, carboy recycle and a rag laundering program to minimize the amount of waste shipped off site for disposal.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University utilizes a process where individuals on campus can request that a chemical waste (hazardous, universal, non-regulated) be safely removed from their area. The chemical waste is transferred to a Central Accumulation Area by a contracted waste technician where it’s classified, segregated and stored to await final disposal. Hazardous waste is shipped off campus within 90 days by our waste vendor.
The University disposes of all chemical waste through a contracted waste vendor. All waste is transported to a permitted TSDF or recycling facility.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
Temple University has experienced minor incidental chemical spills over the past 3 years but have not had any significant releases of hazardous materials that impacted the University and/or the environment. EHRS staff are trained and equipped to respond to emergencies during normal business hours, after-hours and holidays. Our Incident and Emergency Response program outlines the incident level, communication, response and post response actions needed to be taken during a hazardous material release.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The Temple University -Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS) utilizes a chemical inventory management system that is maintained and used by chemical owners throughout the university. The system allows for the sharing of chemicals between chemical owners. EHRS also maintains an inventory list of chemicals available for redistribution. These chemicals are kept under EHRS control and are available upon request. Also, chemicals are made available for redistribution from research labs that are closing down before they are sent for final disposal through our contracted waste vendor.
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:
The mission of the Computer Recycling Center is to gather surplus electronic and electronic related equipment from around the university, wipe and destroy any data that is on the equipment, test and refurbish equipment when and where possible, redeploy the equipment where appropriate and lastly arrange for the proper and recommended handling disposal of all unusable equipment and scrap. With equipment that the CRC is not able reuse, it seeks out local third parties that process material locally by breaking materials down to basic commodities for recycling. The CRC seeks third parties that have or are seeking third party certifications for the proper destruction and downstream disposition of our materials. These certifications and permits include but are not limited to Class D Recycling Permits, R2 and/or E-stewards Certifications. The CRC follows up with its own announced and unannounced site visits as well as monitor information related to the industry, organizations and government agencies related to this field. The CRC also requires reports back on the material and weights sent to their facility.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Updated for FY2023
Updated for FY2023
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.