Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.22
Liaison Jay Price
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Jessica GerberDolan
Data Analyst
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

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: https://ehs.utk.edu/index.php/table-of-policies-plans-procedures-guides/hazardous-waste-reduction-plan/

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All hazardous waste disposal on campus is facilitated by Environmental Health and Safety (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, liaising with regulators, preparation and submittal of the annual report, maintenance of the Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan, and scheduling 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 cannot 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 through this program.

Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

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:
Small batteries, printer/toner cartridges, and small electronics can be mailed to the Office of Sustainability for recycling via UT Mail Services or brought to the Public Recycling Drop-Off.

https://sustainability.utk.edu/initiatives/recycling/e-waste-battery-recycling/
https://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 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
https://ehs.utk.edu/index.php/services/

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.