Dalhousie University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Laboratory personnel are strongly encouraged to actively explore and incorporate waste minimization strategies as part of their research and teaching operations. Waste minimization strategies include limited quantities purchased, substitution with less hazardous materials, reducing scale of experiments, and actively managing their chemical inventories.

The Chemical Storage Facility is a central storage and distribution area for chemicals on campus. They refill small chemical bottles (e.g. bases) from bulk orders, minimizing packaging/bottle waste. Graduate students in the Department of Chemistry have started a Green Chemistry initiative. One of the objectives of this group is to minimize solvent use, and they plan on working with labs to modify introductory year experiments so that they use less chemicals.

Dalhousie has a laboratory chemical safety manual and course that contains strategies on how to safely dispose of all hazardous materials, special, and non-regulated chemical waste. https://www.dal.ca/dept/safety/programs-services/chemical-safety.html

Lab reduction and recycling posters bin signage and protocol have been developed to support lab waste initiatives. https://www.dal.ca/dept/sustainability/resources/Reports_and_Policies.html

Once a month, routine hazardous waste is collected from laboratories. Collections of special items – legacy wastes – occur based on need and review of contents. 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.

The university uses a contracted hazardous waste disposal firm to safely dispose of chemical wastes. Safe disposal is one of the evaluation criteria for contractor selection. The vendor, RPR Environmental, offers treatment, recycling and disposal options for hazardous and non-hazardous materials. Their mandate is to always employ disposal methods that support strong environmental stewardship. https://www.dal.ca/dept/safety/programs-services/environmental-protection.html

No significant hazardous material release.

The university is currently using an electronic health and safety management system, EHS Assistant. It allows for active management of chemical inventories. One of the features of the inventory system is the ability to share inventory with other department laboratory personnel. By using this module, researchers can borrow specific chemicals from researchers who have them in their inventory, rather than purchasing new stock.

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. The annual move-out sale, the Halifax Dump and Run, receives a number of electronic devices from students leaving residence. These items are mostly printers, and they are resold to the community to raise funds for charity. The sale also receives electronic donations from the community. Any broken electronics are recycled via the program described above.

https://www.dal.ca/dept/sustainability/campus-initiatives/waste/UniversalWaste.html