Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 55.02
Liaison Rob Williams
Submission Date July 2, 2024

STARS v2.2

Capilano University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Rob Williams
Project Manager
Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal

Does the institution have strategies in place to safely dispose of all hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste and seek to minimize the presence of these materials on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

Non-regulated chemical waste is utilized and managed within the chemistry laboratories. To reduce chemical waste, oxidizers are reduced on site to make them safe for either storage or disposal down the drain. Acids and bases are neutralized on site. Alcohol solutions are generally recycled to reduce requirement for waste collection and electrolyte solutions are reused. All waste reduction measures used on site have been approved by Health Canada.


A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Anything neutralized can go down the drain following MetroVancouver guidelines. Any 'prohibited products' will be collected at source (within the labs) and will be collected by a licensed 3rd party (e.g Clean Harbors) every 2-3 years. Some of these chemicals can be dried and stored, then removed. Organic materials are collected by a licensed 3rd party and are either burned or buried (in the case of heavy metals, etc). Any

Biological Risk Group 1 are put down the drain. Risk Group 2 products are autoclaved with the autoclaves being inspected and validated on an annual basis to ensure they are functioning correctly. Used specimins are stored on site and removed offsite by 3rd party company.

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:

None to add.


A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:

CAPU does not have a centralized inventory to track the use of chemicals, etc, across the organization. Rather, each department maintains it's own inventory that are generally not shared between departments.


Part 2. Electronic waste diversion

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes

Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s), including information about how electronic waste generated by the institution and/or students is recycled:
CAPU has been recognised as one of the top contributors to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry Computers for Schools Plus program (see attached cetificate). As part of the program, CAPU donates all used IT equipment (projectors, laptops, BOSA film equipment, etc), which is subsequently sorted and repurposed for IT within the local school districts. The program is a not for proffit recycling initiative to reduce IT waste and support local school districts.

 

Additionally, CAPU has it's own battery recycling program whereby used batteries are collected by the organization and recycled ethically via a third party organization. The aim is to remove battery waste from landfill.

 

The above schemes are relevant for all electronic waste generation at CAPU, whether via the institution or students. Additionally, the CAPU Students Union have several programs designed to promote the repair and reuse of student's IT equipment. The Device Doctor program repairs IT equipment at cost (no labor costs) and a separate fund is available to have students IT repaired for free. Any donated IT is refurbished and given to students (who apply) for free and any non refurbishable items are recycled ethically.

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
---

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
https://reusetechbc.ca/request

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Computers_for_Schools_30_years.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The Computers for Schools certificate is included. 


The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.