Environmental Affairs

Bulk Trash

Bulk trash is the regular trash that is gathered at a collection point such as your desk, your floor, your hallway, etc. Bulk trash is to only contain items that are not recyclable on campus and do not present a hazard to human health and/or the environment.

Should you have questions about the proper disposal of an item, please email radosti@tcnj.edu prior to placing it into The College’s bulk trash.

On campus, bulk trash is collected by a team of staff members from Building Services and Grounds & Landscape Maintenance Services. To request a special removal, please contact Grounds & Landscape Maintenance Services.

Hazardous Waste – Chemical Waste – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS

Here is a waste guide for TCNJ purchased items, Waste Guide 2019.

Chemical waste not suitable for drain or bulk trash disposal must be collected and managed as hazardous waste. Chemical wastes may present a hazard to human health and the environment and require appropriate management and disposal. All chemical wastes have the following requirements:

• Must be disposed of through EHS. Notify your area manager that you have waste so that it can be identified for collection during the next scheduled disposal.
• Please be mindful of the P-listed wastes, these are a special type of hazardous waste and only 2.2 pounds will affect our generator status. Please see the included link for P-listed wastes. Please let me know immediately (Radosti@tcnj.edu) if these wastes are anticipated to be generated or when these wastes are generated.
• Expired chemicals. Some expiration dates are more important than others due to additional hazards that can develop with certain expired chemicals.
• Placed into compatible, closed and sealed containers. For clarification, caps must be able to close tightly on a container. Any cap that just twists and doesn’t close is not considered sealed and closed.
• Laboratory wastes must be labeled with a TCNJ fluorescent hazardous waste label and identified contents in English using the chemical name (please contact Amanda Radosti at radosti@tcnj.edu if you require additional labels). Any additional information (i.e. CAS#s and chemical structures) on a laboratory container label is provided by the preference of the individual completing the label and is not required. For mixed wastes please note that a percentage is required for each waste in the container for disposal purposes.
• All other chemical wastes that are not from a laboratory are to have the original manufacturer label on the container with a TCNJ fluorescent hazardous waste label.
• All hazardous waste is to be stored within a designated chemical waste satellite accumulation or central collection area.

EHS has regularly scheduled hazardous waste chemical collections; almost every 90 days. Please have your wastes added to the central collection areas, sealed, properly labeled, and identified in accordance with Right to Know/Hazard Communication Programs, the Globally Harmonized System, along with hazardous waste requirements for the hazardous waste contractor. Once the specific dates for pickup have been scheduled with the contractor, EHS contacts established area managers regarding the details of the collection via email. It is important to make sure that a Hazardous and Universal Waste Disposal Inventory Form is filled out completely and returned by the time specified in the email. Please inventory chemical and electronic waste separately, by using one form for chemical waste and one form for electronic waste. If you want to check if you are on the list, or if you have a one-time generation of hazardous waste, please email Amanda Radosti at radosti@tcnj.edu.

Hazardous Waste – Chemical Waste – NOT PURCHASED USING TCNJ FUNDS

The following information is for all students, faculty, and staff either living on or off campus. Please be advised that you are considered residents of the location of your permanent address. Should your permanent address be on campus, you are considered a resident of Ewing Township/Mercer County (for the purposes of waste disposal) while living on campus. Please contact the county where your permanent address is located to identify the proper disposal method.

Have you recently completed a project? Do you have leftover chemicals and or products?

1. Check the label to see if there are disposal instructions on the package.

2. Check to see if there are indicators on the label, usually “Danger,” “Warning,” or “Caution.” More than likely, these are considered hazardous waste.

3. Check your county website to see if the material is accepted within their Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Collection.

Specialized Waste – Batteries – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS

All batteries, with the exception of alkaline, are considered a type of hazardous waste called universal waste. As such, all batteries that are not alkaline should be kept separate for hazardous waste collection. Please refer to Hazardous Waste – Chemical Waste – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS.

Please review the specific page about batteries from the TCNJ Recycling Website. http://recycling.pages.tcnj.edu/guidelines/batteries/

Specialized Waste – Batteries – NOT PURCHASED USING TCNJ FUNDS

The following information is for all students, faculty, and staff either living on or off campus. Please be advised that you are considered residents of the location of your permanent address. Should your permanent address be on campus, you are considered a resident of Ewing Township/Mercer County (for the purposes of waste disposal) while living on campus. Otherwise, you are redirected to the county where your permanent address is located for proper waste disposal.

Batteries other than alkaline contain heavy metals that are toxic to human health and the environment. As such, these items have special handling and disposal requirements. For most personal purchases the store where you purchased the battery may take the old one when purchasing a new one.

http://recycling.pages.tcnj.edu/guidelines/batteries/

Check your county website to see if the material is accepted within their Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Collection.

Specialized Waste – Light bulbs – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS

All light bulb purchases for TCNJ buildings are made through Facilities Operations. Personal student, faculty, and staff lamps are not included in those purchases. Please contact Facilities Operations at extension 2353 for proper handling and storage instructions should your area be generating light bulbs.

Most light bulbs and/or tubes aside from incandescent bulbs contain mercury or other gases that have special handling and disposal requirements. As such, these bulbs are disposed of through a special waste vendor managed by EHS. Mercury-containing items are considered Universal Waste, a type of Hazardous Waste. For disposal information, please refer to Hazardous Waste – Chemical Waste – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS

Specialized Waste – Light Bulbs – NOT PURCHASED USING TCNJ FUNDS

Most light bulbs and/or tubes aside from incandescent bulbs contain mercury or other gases that have special handling and disposal requirements. As such, these bulbs are not to be disposed of using the College’s bulk trash.

Some stores allow you to return old bulbs when purchasing new ones. Check your county website to see if the material is accepted within their Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Collection.

Specialized Waste – Electronics and White Goods – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS

All Consumer Electronics are considered Universal Waste, a type of Hazardous Waste.

Consumer Electronics include some of the following:

• Computers and all their parts
• Monitors and/or televisions
• Fax machines
• Cell phones
• Microwaves
• General equipment (plugs in and lights up)

White Goods include some of the following:

• Refrigerators
• Ovens

For information on the proper disposal of these items, please refer to Hazardous Waste – Chemical Waste – FOR TCNJ PURCHASED ITEMS section.

Specialized Waste – Electronics and White Goods – NOT PURCHASED USING TCNJ FUNDS

All consumer electronics are considered universal waste, a type of hazardous waste. The items contain hazardous materials (mostly heavy metals) that will contaminate soil and/or water if thrown into the trash. As such, do not dispose of these items using the bulk trash on campus.

For some electronics, you may be able to return the old electronic equipment when purchasing a new one.

Check your county website to see if the material is accepted within their Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Collection.

White goods include refrigerators and ovens, these items are normally collected from the point of purchase of the new one. Otherwise, please check with your local county for proper disposal.

Specialized Waste – Students – Move In / Move Out of Residence Halls

Every year, move-in activities generate a large amount of trash and recyclable cardboard. Please be advised that we do recycle on campus and refer to the Recycling Website for additional information: http://recycling.pages.tcnj.edu/guidelines/

Every year, move-out activities generate a lot of additional trash, approximately thirteen 30-yard dumpsters are used each year to accommodate the large amount of trash. Most of this trash includes usable items that cannot be taken home with students for various reasons. These items can be donated, instead of being sent to a landfill! Please refer to the information on the Reduce For Good Use program. http://recycling.pages.tcnj.edu/students/dump-run/

Specialized Waste – Medications

Please do not flush your personal medications down the toilet or put them in the garbage. Please refer to the following information from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection:

Proper Medication Disposal

Specialized Waste – Latex Paint either purchased by TCNJ or not

Proper disposal of latex paint has been summarized by the NJDEP as the following:

Disposal Procedures for Latex Paint:

1. Latex paint must be dried out by an absorbent.
2. Place adsorbent (sand, kitty litter, or speedy dry) into the latex paint.
3. Once the latex paint is absorbed or solid, place the lid back on the paint can OR to reuse can scrape out the dried paint.
4. Place the solid latex paint in a plastic bag.
5. If the solid latex can is being disposed of with the solid latex paint inside it use a heavy contractor bag due to the weight.
6. Place plastic bag(s) out for regular trash collection.

On campus, all used latex paint supplies are to be cleaned out using interior building sinks. Our campus-wide Stormwater Permit does not allow us to rinse any paint-covered materials outside.

Please use the latex paint disposal guide (on the website) for a review of proper handling and disposal.

As a reminder, all oil-based paints and/or finishes that are waste are to be sorted and inventoried for hazardous waste collection in their liquid state.

Please use the latex paint disposal guide for a review of proper handling and disposal.

Regulated Medical Waste

Any container with the universal biohazard symbol (above) on it is considered regulated medical waste. Please first confirm that the waste being generated is actually regulated medical waste then place the waste into the appropriate containers. Once waste is ready to be collected, including sharps containers and any regulated medical waste bag or container that is properly labeled and sealed, they are to be brought to Student Health Services, located in Eickhoff Hall Room 107, where you will be asked to identify the waste (i.e. sharps containers, etc.) and weight of the materials. This information is collected in order to track the waste and fill out an annual report to the NJDEP.

Student, faculty, or staff at home use regulated medical waste can be handled through their personal doctor who has prescribed the needles and/or sharp’s containers. Please see the NJDEP for additional information. NJDEP_At home RMW generators

Recycling (Paper, Bottles and Cans, Cardboard, etc.)

Please note that this link will take you to the Recycling Website homepage. There are multiple tabs to direct you to the information you are searching for. Please click on the Recycling Guidelines tab for a more detailed description of what we recycle on campus.