The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the act that allows the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations governing the generation, transport, and disposal of “Universal Wastes”. The regulations were developed to promote the collection and recycling of special categories of hazardous waste. It should be noted that Universal Wastes includes batteries,lamps, mercury containing equipment, pesticides, as well as ballasts and thermostats.
Universal Wastes are managed through the Office of Environmental Health and Safety’s (EHS) Hazardous Waste Program. Generators of such waste can make a request to EHS to pick up these materials, as well as to provide containers for their storage to facilitate transport. Following a formal pickup request, EHS Hazardous Waste staff pickup and transport the Universal Waste to a central collection point on campus for processing and consolidation. The University has a contract with a company that picks up the hazardous waste on a routine basis and transports the materials to their recycling facilities where they are further processed and the valuable components are recycled and placed back into commerce. The University’s Universal Waste Program is one that demonstrates a commitment for being resourceful, sustainable and a good steward of the environment.
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