HAZARDOUS WASTE REDUCTION

Reducing the quantity of hazardous waste generated by the University will not only help protect the environment, but will save money in hazardous materials disposal costs, minimize liability, and reduce regulatory requirements of the University. Hazardous waste minimization involves various strategies to reduce the consumption and/or toxicity of hazardous materials used by the University.

• Who is responsible?

  It is the responsibility of everyone who generates wastes to reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous waste to the extent that is economically and technically feasible, including reducing the volume or quantity and/or toxicity of the wastes generated in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations.
  
  The Environmental Health & Safety Department has developed a Hazardous Waste Reduction Policy (ERM.EHS.HMW 211 Hazardous Waste Reduction Policy) which outlines methodologies for reducing the generation of hazardous waste.
  

• Elimination
  • Limiting quantities purchased - Purchase chemicals in the smallest volumes needed. Consider buying pre-weighed or pre-measured reagent packets where waste generation is high.
  • Chemical exchange - Laboratories should check with other labs in their department, or even other departments on campus, to see if they have excess chemicals they would be willing to share. It costs 20-40 times the original purchase price of a chemical to dispose of that same chemical. The American Chemical Society estimates that 40% of chemical wastes generated by labs consists of unused chemicals. Do not accept any chemicals from another department or outside organization unless you are sure these substances will be used.
  • Inventory management and control - Laboratories should constantly monitor their chemical inventory and dispose of any unwanted or expired chemicals through EH&S.  New containers should be dated when they are received so that older products will be used first.

  Environmental Health and Safety has implemented a new Chemical Inventory module as part of its Safety Management System (“SMS”) – more information about the SMS can be found at https://ehs.stonybrook.edu/resources/sms/.

• Process modifications

  Principal Investigators are encouraged to develop and use validated experimental procedures that replace hazardous materials with non-hazardous materials. This is especially important during any pre-experimental planning stages.
  
  Use of computer modeling and/or instrumentation to eliminate chemical use. 
  
  Use of micro-chemistry or using reduced volumes in an experiment. Procedures to switch to micro-chemistry include:

  • Switching from conventional to fast microprocessor-based, top loading balances that are sensitive to 0.1 mg.
  • Use of chromatographic techniques, such as high performance and ion exchange that can clearly separate and purify milligram quantities of a substance.
  • Use of microscale glassware, including pipettes, burettes, syringes, reactors and stills for handling reagents and their products.
  • Switching from conventional to sensitive spectrometers that can analyze milligram quantities of substance.
• Substitution

  Product substitution with a non-hazardous or less hazardous material. Examples of product substitution include:

  • Using a biodegradable non-toxic preservative, such as ethanol, in lieu of formaldehyde-based substances (formalin).
  • Replacing flammable scintillation fluid with non-hazardous biodegradable scintillation fluid.
  • Replacing hazardous solvents or cleaning solutions in parts washers with non-hazardous solutions.
  • Substituting copper sulfate for mercuric oxide in Kjeldahl analyses.
  • Avoid mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste.
  • Replacing mercury thermometers with alcohol-based or digital thermometers.
  • Do not mix water, or other non-hazardous substances with hazardous waste.  
  • Do not mix used oil with solvents or heavy metals, or the used oil cannot be recycled.
• Other methods to reduce hazardous waste generation
  • Spill prevention - Care should be taken when weighing or transferring chemicals to minimize spills. Containers should be sealed when not in use and processes should be contained (i.e., fume hoods) to prevent the escape of fumes or leaks into the environment.
  • Housekeeping - This includes properly labeling all containers with their hazardous contents and keeping an up-to-date chemical inventory. Dispose of chemicals when no longer usable or needed, or once expired – holding onto chemicals indefinitely not only increases potential risk of exposure, but aging container labels can fade or otherwise become illegible which leads to “unknown chemicals” which are more costly to dispose of.

  • Training - Include waste minimization practices in student and employee orientation training sessions. All employees and students who generate hazardous waste must also take ENV 001 – Hazardous Waste Management training.
  • Segregation - Wastes must be properly segregated once they are generated and stored in chemically compatible containers. For example, acid waste should not be stored together with caustics and oxidizers should not be stored with flammables. Hydrofluoric acid waste should not be stored in glass containers. Waste should be stored in secondary containment (i.e. tubs) when appropriate to ensure proper segregation during storage.
  • Eliminating unknown chemicals - Chemicals that are unlabeled cost up to 10 times more for disposal than properly labeled chemicals. At the end of the semester, or when students are leaving the lab, ensure all chemical containers are properly labeled. Conduct periodic monitoring of students’ work in the lab to ensure proper labeling is being practiced and reinforced.

  • Recycling - There are many good reasons to recycle. Some of these reasons include:
    • • Conserves energy
      • Protects the environment
      • Reduces the need to build new landfills and incinerators
      • Saves money and energy
      • Stimulates the development of green technologies
      • Provides valuable raw materials to industry
  • Current waste recycling initiatives:
    • • Universal waste, such as rechargeable batteries, fluorescent lamps and used oil, are sent to commercial recyclers.
      • Solvents with high BTU values are reclaimed and burned as fuel in incinerators.
      • Mercury from thermometers and equipment is collected for retorting.
      • Used photographic fixer is filtered for silver recovery.
      • Some solvents can be re-distilled and reused. There are two solvent recovery units currently on Campus.
  • Elementary neutralization - Acids and bases can be neutralized if they don’t contain any heavy metals or organics. Contact EHS before conducting any elementary neutralization for approval.
  • Prevent improper disposal - The following methods of hazardous chemical disposal are not acceptable and are considered a violation of state and federal environmental regulations and institutional policy:
    • • Evaporation
      • Dilution
      • Combustion
      • Storm sewer
      • Sanitary sewer
      • Sharps container
      • Regular trash
      • Biohazard waste containers
  • Combining wastes to render them nonhazardous - Intentional mixing of waste to change the characteristic is a direct violation of the US EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) land disposal treatment standards. A permit is generally required to treat hazardous waste.