| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.82 |
| Liaison | Rochelle Owen |
| Submission Date | Jan. 7, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Dalhousie University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
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?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Dalhousie has a laboratory chemical safety manual that contains strategies on how to safely dispose of all hazardous materials, special, and non-regulated chemical waste
See more here:
http://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/dept/safety/Chemical/Laboratory_Chemical_Safety_Manual.pdf
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The Environmental Health and Safety Office has coordinated the university's hazardous waste disposal effort. With the assistance of Facilities Management (Transportation and Moving Services), trained staff collect waste solvents and related material from various locations across our campuses. The material is taken to the Chemical Storage Facility where items are sorted and either bulked, lab packed, recycled, or rendered non-hazardous for disposal. The liquid wastes are generally "bulked" into approved containers with other compatible materials and shipped for disposal and/or recycling to an approved waste facility by a licensed hazardous waste disposal firm. Materials that cannot be "bulked" are packed in approved containers with an itemized list and other paper work as required by federal and provincial acts and regulations.
See more information here:
http://www.dal.ca/dept/safety/programs-services/environmental-protection/hazardous-waste-disposal-services.html
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant hazardous material release. The nuclear facility on campus was successfully decommissioned.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
ChemEx - the Dalhousie University Laboratory Chemical Exchange Program - continues to take chemicals that would otherwise be destined for disposal and donates them to research and teaching laboratories at Dalhousie and in neighbouring institutions.
Also, there is an inventory sharing/donating system in place where the Chemical Lab Pack Disposal Form is distributed among colleagues before it is submitted. This is to allow circulation of materials slated for disposal in case there is a useful application of that material in another project or department.
See more here:
http://www.dal.ca/dept/safety/programs-services/environmental-protection/hazardous-waste-disposal-services.html
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s):
Dalhousie University provides an electronics recycling program to all faculty and staff. Starting back in October 2008, electronic products have been collected, wiped of data, and transported to an approved provincial recycling depot. Materials from the depot are transferred to a plant where metals, glass, and plastic are recycled into new products. This program is for electronic products that have exhausted their re-use potential
Also the Office of Sustainability holds an annual electronics drop-off event open to all students, and employees of Dalhousie University where electronic waste are collected for recycling. The Office partners with Electronics Products Recycling Association (EPRA) for this event.
See more here:
https://dalu.sharepoint.com/sites/mydal/dc/ITS/Pages/ElectronicsRecyclingE-Recycling.aspx
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
Dalhousie University sends all electronic waste to Enviro Depot and then it goes to the Electronics Product Recycling Association (EPRA). The EPRA are an industry-led, not-for-profit organization that operates regulated recycling programs across Canada. They ensure that end-of-life electronics are handled in a safe, secure and environmentally-sound manner.
EPRA is committed to ensuring that end-of-life electronics (EOLE) collected through its program are recycled in a manner that protects the environment as well as worker health and safety.
EPRA only works with recyclers who have been audited and approved under the national Recycler Qualification Program (RQP), which is designed by the electronics industry to ensure that EOLEs are managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner.
See more:
http://epra.ca/who-we-are/responsible-recycling
For more information on the Electronics Recycling Standard and to view a list of verified recyclers, visit www.rqp.ca.
The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.