George Mason University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Mason actively seeks to reduce its use of hazardous materials when possible and in turn reduce the amount of hazardous waste. During Laboratory Safety Orientation Training administered by the Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) to students, faculty, and staff, waste minimization is encouraged in laboratories. Mason is also looking at ways of redirecting non-hazardous waste from landfills to further reduce its impact on the local environment. In addition to laboratory safety trainings, Hazardous and Regulated Waste is now a stand alone course offered online which is expected to reach a larger audience, improve training compliance, and promote safe and appropriate waste disposal throughout campus.

Mason ensures personnel who manage hazardous waste have been trained on an annual basis. EHS collects hazardous waste from the university’s laboratories and Facilities shops, and segregates waste according to hazard class. As needed the waste is be picked up for transport and sent to the appropriate treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facility by a commercial hazardous/solid waste contractor in accordance with EPA and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Regulations. Mason is subject to routine inspections by the DEQ to ensure compliance with hazardous and solid waste regulations.

Mason has had no significant release of hazardous materials into the environment within the past three years.

EHS works with laboratory faculty and staff to identify unused chemicals that could be used by another instructor or research team. When these chemicals are identified, EHS sends an email to the appropriate Lab Safety Liaisons to notify them of the type and amount of chemical available. Unless a researcher or instructor has requested that EHS flag a particular chemical for them, the unused chemicals are available on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Once the chemicals have been tagged for the appropriate researcher(s), EHS arranges for the researcher to retrieve, deliver, and transport the chemical(s) to the recipient laboratory. Mason's Hazard Communication Training encourages the elimination, substitution, or minimization of hazardous chemicals and substances to further reduce waste.

George Mason University (Mason) has a program to recycle rechargeable batteries, printer cartridges, and cell phones. For surplus computers and electronic equipment, these are collected by Mason's surplus program for reuse by other departments within the university or are auctioned off if there are no interested parties.

It is specifically tailored to student involvement with special year-round e-waste receptacles in student centers (The Hub and the Johnson Center) and Mason holds special programming and engagement, as well as hosts special collection sites during student move out in residence halls to capture e-waste and equipment that would otherwise be thrown away.