The Challenge
Managing all of OSU's hazardous waste
Oregon State University needed a service provider to handle all of their waste, sometimes with unusual requirements like refrigeration or inhalation hazards, on a consistent schedule, yet available for the occasional lab cleanout.
Pete Schoonover is the Hazardous Materials Specialist at Oregon State University. He was looking for a hazardous waste management service to work with his schedule and fulfill all of the University’s waste needs on time and efficiently. He chose Veolia. Here, he describes his experience working with Veolia for the past several years.
Solution
Waste pickup whenever and wherever it's required
Veolia accommodates all of their waste streams, whenever and wherever they need pickups. One point of contact for customer service is very helpful, as is the CIMS system for real-time tracking, and competitive pricing.
“We need a waste pickup about every 65 to 70 days. If we generate some unusual waste, like something that needs to be in a refrigerated truck or that poses an inhalation hazard, we have time to deal with it. We pool all our waste in a central location, and Veolia picks up everything from our warehouse. On occasion, when we have a massive clean out on our schedule or a special project, they will come in and work directly out of that particular laboratory.”
All of Our Waste Needs with One Company
“About eight years ago we would break all of our waste streams up and assign them to different disposal companies. One company had lab pack, another company had a certain branch of solvents, and a third company would take the unusual waste. For many years we did that. It was under the guise of making the companies compete against each other, so that we would receive the lowest price. We might have saved a few dollars, but it was a logistical nightmare. When it became my turn to run the flagship, I enlisted Veolia to handle all of our waste needs.”
Results
Customer service
“Veolia has spectacular customer service. We’ve worked with companies in the past whose customer service is terrible. You get bounced around from person to person, with no commitment; they just want to charge you this fee and that fee, whatever they can. With Veolia, we can just call up our rep, and we’ll have a truck here when we
need it, and they handle everything.”
Waste Tracking and Compliance
“What I really like about Veolia’s service is their CIMS tracking software. Some of the other disposal companies are pretty slow about getting return manifests out and you only have 45 days before you need to have a copy. With Veolia, I can just look on the CIMS software, and there’s a picture of the manifest I can print right then and there, and I’m covered. I can also print out annual reports with two clicks of a mouse.”
The Best Price
“They give us the best price on about 80% of the materials. When it comes to pricing, Veolia wins. We put out multiple bids, but we set it up so that they’d be the primary person to bid on the contract, because we like working with them so much.”
Spectacular Service
“It’s been great dealing with Veolia. Like I said, when something unusual comes up, I’m on the phone well before the lab pack comes up, and we can have everything profiled before they get here. The group out of Vancouver is just spectacular to work with.”