The First Facility Management Blog

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the Academic Laboratory rule to help improve the environmental performance of teaching and research laboratories that are owned by eligible academic entities. This rule is aimed at increasing regulatory flexibility, while enhancing safe management of hazardous waste.

Eligible academic entities include colleges and universities, and teaching hospitals and non-profit research institutes that are either owned by or formally affiliated with a college or university. Under the new rule, these eligible academic entities will be able to decide where (at the laboratory, at an on-site central accumulation area, or at an on-site treatment, storage or disposal facility) the hazardous waste determination is made. A lab also must ensure that certain conditions are met to protect human health and the environment. According to EPA, this flexibility allows eligible academic entities to determine the most effective and environmentally protective method of compliance and also ensures that a RCRA-trained professional will be making the hazardous waste determination. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) governs the management of hazardous wastes.

The Academic Laboratory rule requires the development of a laboratory management plan, which is expected to result in safer laboratory practices and increased awareness of hazardous waste management. In addition, the rule provides incentives for eligible academic entities to dispose of old and expired chemicals that may pose unnecessary risk.

More information can be found on the EPA Web site.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently selected the furniture and wall system manufacturer with the 2008 WasteWise Gold Achievement Award for Packaging Reduction. KI was recognized for its multi-faceted program that eliminated 6.29 million pounds of industrial waste and raw materials as a result of product redesign and recycling activities in 2007. 

As part of its effort, KI focused on the reduction of material contents in products, waste prevention in its manufacturing processes, material diversion from landfills, and the purchase of recycled content components. KI’s waste prevention program saved the company more than $500,000 in costs last year. 

“We are proud to be recognized with this prestigious honor from the EPA,” said Beth Seymour, vice president of manufacturing. “Our packaging reduction program and similar initiatives are important to our customers who themselves emphasize good stewardship of the environment and want to do business with companies who share that commitment.”

 WasteWise is a free, voluntary EPA program through which organizations eliminate municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes. WasteWise created the Gold Achievement Award in 2005 to recognize its partners’ achievements in areas such as climate change, green buildings, product stewardship, and beneficial use of secondary materials. 

To read TFM’s coverage of packaging reduction, read “Reducing Waste, Coming And Going” from the February 2008 issue.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions to certain regulatory requirements for hazardous waste shipments between countries to ensure that recovery is done in an environmentally sound and economically efficient manner. These changes would make the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s (RCRA) hazardous waste transboundary shipment regulations more consistent with those of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Hazardous waste is often shipped between countries for recovery. EPA has established an extensive set of regulations under RCRA governing the shipment of hazardous waste within the United States. Additionally, the United States participates in a number of bilateral waste agreements between countries and in the multilateral waste agreement controlling the shipment of hazardous waste for recovery between OECD Member countries.

Specifically, this rule proposes to revise:

• The existing RCRA regulation regarding the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes for recovery among countries belonging to the OECD to conform to legally required revisions made by the OECD
• The RCRA regulations for spent lead-acid batteries to add export notification and consent requirements
• The hazardous waste import requirements
• The address to which export exception reports are to be sent

Comments will be accepted for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register, which is expected by tomorrow, October 3, 2008.

More information is available at www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/international/oecd-slab-rule.htm.

Last month, Waste Management, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, WM LampTracker, an online service for the recycling of fluorescent lamps containing mercury, announced the expansion of its WM LampTracker program to include Mercury VaporLok® box options for small and midsize businesses.

As an increasing number of states mandate specialized storage and disposal of mercury containing devices, including fluorescent bulbs, mercury disposal issues are becoming a concern for more small to medium sized businesses. And, the program expansion is aimed at offering a solution for all businesses to responsibly handle their fluorescent bulbs.

“In light of the fantastic reception our LampTracker system has received among our large enterprise customers, it seemed natural to expand our product portfolio to help smaller businesses,” said Rick Cochrane, senior business director of Waste Management’s LampTracker program. “WM LampTracker now offers solutions for businesses of all sizes to comply with mercury waste disposal regulations, and we’ll continue to improve our programs to make the proper disposal of all fluorescent lamps as safe and convenient as possible.”

WM LampTracker provides a systematic, total-care approach to the storage, handling, transport and recycling of fluorescent lamps. The WM LampTracker’s containers are suitable as both storage and shipping containers. Previously only available to large enterprises, WM LampTracker now provides Mercury VaporLok® containers in a range of size options for small and midsize businesses.

The WM LampTracker Mercury VaporLok® containers are a specialized storage system—a box in a foil bag in a box—that has been tested and meets packaging standards set by the ASTM and USDOT/UN. WM LampTracker’s containers arrive with prepaid return postage and are approved for shipment by both UPS and FedEx ground services.

The company’s services include tracking of containers from order through recycling, with complete documentation of container status available online.

About Waste Management Waste Management, based in Houston, TX, is a provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Its subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. Also a leading developer, operator, and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.

The Global Renewable Energy & Environmental Network (GREEN) and the BPM Forum have just released “Garbage Is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” a new report that looks at how organizations manage their biodegradable waste streams and where future opportunities exist.

America is underutilizing its garbage and organizations are missing opportunities to reduce costs and help the environment along the way. That’s why GREEN has completed a comprehensive report on the management of biodegradable waste at American organizations—it includes findings from an insightful survey, firsthand quotes from professionals at well-known organizations, brief case studies, and more.

Waste management may not be the sexiest subject, but it’s more important than ever, both environmentally and economically. Even as quantities of garbage increase and the number of landfills decrease, the strongest motivation for organizations appears to be waste’s capacity to reduce operating costs. GREEN’s research shows, however, that while most constituents acknowledge the benefits of properly managing biodegradable waste, there’s little urgency to take action. We hope this report will help organizations change their thinking and kick-start new endeavors.

A copy of the report can be downloaded here. GREEN_Waste_Report.pdf