Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.60
Liaison Jay Price
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Preston Jacobsen
Sustainability Manager
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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:
The University of Tennessee adopted a Hazardous Waste Minimization Policy in 2012. This policy can be found here: http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/safety%20manual/smpdf/Haz%20Waste%20minimization%20plan%202012.pdf Additionally, the Environmental Health and Safety Office at UT has developed a Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan. They have also published a list called 101 Ways to Reduce Hazardous Waste in the Laboratory (http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/pdf/101wrhwl.pdf), as well as other guides and resources, which can be found on their website (http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/Hazardous%20Waste%20Management/hwm.html).

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All hazardous waste created on campus is disposed of through the EHS. The waste must be labeled with UT hazardous waste labels and stored properly prior to collection. Management of hazardous waste on campus by EHS includes waste characterization, record keeping and report, liaison with regulators, preparation and submittal of the annual report, maintenance of the Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan, including metrics, schedule waste pickup.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There have been no significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
EHS maintains a Chemical Exchange program, in which people can exchange unwanted chemicals with others on campus. The chemicals or products must be unopened, unused, and not have expired. If someone has chemicals they no longer need, they can contact EHS to pick up the items. The EHS website also has a list of chemicals that are available via this program.

Part 2 

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

If yes to either of the above, provide:

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:
UT recycling collects cell phones, small batteries, laptop batteries, personal printer and toner cartridges, calculators, MP3 players, CDs and DVDs, power cords and accessory cases at electronic waste stations around campus. Working calculators are donated to Calculators To Classrooms. Larger items that cannot fit in the bins can be picked up via a service request form. UT's electronic waste is disposed of by PowerHouse Recycling of Salisbury, NC. PowerHouse Recycling Inc's recycling processes are compliant with local, state, and federal EPA laws. All recycling processes are complaint with R2, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001 standards and regulations. All of their downstream smelters, refineries, and vendors have been vetted and certified to assure all of their processes follow R2 and ISO 14001:2004 standards and regulations. http://www.powerhouserecycling.com/services/electronics-recycling/

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes

Optional Fields 

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:
30.50 Tons

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/Hazardous%20Waste%20Management/hwm.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/safety%20manual/smpdf/Haz%20Waste%20minimization%20plan%202012.pdf http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/pdf/101wrhwl.pdf http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/Hazardous%20Waste%20Management/hwm.html

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.