Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 57.04
Liaison Larry Cook
Submission Date Feb. 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of South Carolina
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Namita Koppa
Assistant Director for Program Management
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:

USC collects, recycles, reuses, and repurposes waste materials where possible. This includes hazardous waste, non hazardous waste, universal waste, infectious waste, and electronic wastes.


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

A vendor picks up and recycles or provides assistance in reusing non hazardous materials. This can involve reusing materials with a BTU factor for fuels. In addition, USC has a licensed infectious waste vendor who picks up our infectious waste, transports it to a licensed incinerator, and disposes of this waste by incineration. Universal wastes are collected and recycled through licensed vendors. E-waste is recycled using standards for safe recycling and disposal meeting Responsible Recycling Practices (R2) and e-Steward certification programs that define responsible and effective e-waste management.


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

USC has not experienced any hazardous material releases during the previous 3 years.


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

USC uses a chemical inventory system which keeps record of the chemical waste collected and the location where it is stored. This system can also provide useful data for police and fire departments if the stored chemical waste is part of an emergency situation. All of the hazardous waste generated from the Columbia campus is disposed of through our vendor Tradebe. Through a collaborative effort, we have identified many waste streams that can be stabilized and reused in other industries. This allows us to minimize how much of our waste is sent to the landfills or incineration while complying with RCRA standards for proper disposal. A majority of our waste can be blended for fuel and reused by a cement company located near Tradebe’s treatment and disposal facility in Chicago.


Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all 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):

Workplace e-waste is managed by our central inventory warehouse and is either reused in offices or recycled by relevant vendors.


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 employees are instructed on what to do with their electronic waste on campus.


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:
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