Safe and Sustainable Management of Hazardous and Toxic Waste (B3) at UNS

Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) is committed to creating a healthy, safe, and sustainable campus environment through responsible waste management. Educational, research, laboratory, service, and campus operational activities have the potential to generate waste that requires special handling, including waste containing Hazardous and Toxic Materials (B3). Managing B3 waste is important to prevent risks to human health and to prevent contamination of the soil, water, and the environment around the campus.

This commitment is reinforced through Rector’s Instruction of Universitas Sebelas Maret Number 30 of 2023 on the Management of Waste and Waste Containing Hazardous and Toxic Materials (B3) at the Universitas Sebelas Maret Campus. The Rector’s Instruction serves as the basis for work units at UNS in carrying out integrated waste management. The policy covers efforts to reduce waste generation, sorting, storage, collection, utilization, transportation, and treatment of waste. The instruction also emphasizes the provision of waste management facilities and infrastructure, the provision of laboratory material storage that meets standards, the management of B3-containing waste through appropriate treatment facilities, and efforts to prevent liquid waste and B3 waste from contaminating water bodies.

File: https://cdna.uns.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/2025/09/Rectors-Instruction-on-the-Management-of-Waste-and-Hazardous-and-Toxic-Materials.pdf 

The policy is implemented by encouraging waste sorting at the source and applying the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, recycle) and composting to reduce the amount of waste entering final treatment. UNS also seeks to control the use of materials that may increase waste generation, including plastic, paper, and styrofoam. This approach is aimed not only at reducing waste volume but also at building habits among campus members so that they are more responsible in using resources and handling the residues of their activities.

The importance of sorting at the source is in line with the study by Purnaweni et al. (2025), which analyzed the factors influencing household B3 waste management in Semarang City through path analysis (International Journal of Environmental Impacts, 8(5)), so that fostering sorting behavior among the academic community becomes an important part of the management system built by UNS.

In B3 waste management, UNS applies a more specific approach according to the characteristics and hazard potential of the waste. Support for waste management facilities and infrastructure continues to be provided to support the sorting and handling of waste. Laboratory materials that may cause contamination are placed in storage facilities that comply with safety and environmental protection requirements. Meanwhile, liquid waste generated from various campus activities is managed through treatment systems, including the Integrated Wastewater Treatment Plant (IPAL), so that the risk of pollutants entering the environment and water bodies can be minimized.

The handling of B3 waste by treatment facilities that meet regulatory requirements is also a focus of UNS research. Rachmawati and Matin (2025) studied the physical characteristics and topographic composition of incineration residues from infectious waste at a B3 waste treatment company (Pollution, 11, DOI: 10.22059/poll.2025.386840.2694), which shows that treatment residues also require careful further handling.

Through these waste management policies and their implementation, UNS seeks to build a preventive, safe, and sustainable campus environmental management system. This practice directly supports the achievement of SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, particularly through reducing waste generation, using resources more efficiently, and safely managing B3 waste and liquid waste to prevent environmental contamination.