George Brown College
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management

We have purchasing controls to buy less hazardous materials. When purchasing a product or service to be used at the college, preference should be given to products or services that are environmentally preferable. Products should be evaluated on a regular basis to determine if there is a safer alternative. The purchase should not be looked at as a onetime event, rather the long term life cycle of the product should be considered including operating and energy costs, maintenance, disposal and recycling costs. Each department and division head shall ensure that they follow all life cycle practices with respect to all hazardous materials for: 1. Purchasing 2. Labelling 3. Handling 4. Storage 5. Safe disposal

George Brown College uses a hazardous materials/waste disposal company to handle all special wastes. The College ensures that all divisions and departments are in compliance with the provisions of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 860 as amended O. Reg. 36/93, under the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act, particularly with respect to the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and inventory of WHMIS controlled products.

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Used computers that can be refurbished are sold to the College Bookstores for re-sale to students. Electronic waste is collected at least twice a year or an an as needed basis and sent to certified destruction/recycling facilities.Temporary e-waste storage bins are located at each campus and are available to store e-waste in between e-waste collections. Employees and students can bring e-waste to the Campus Bookstores which have e-waste bins located outside, can bring used batteries to the First Aid Office, and used cell phones to the Guest Services and Student Affairs and Student Association Offices for recycling (proceeds benefit a Toronto NGO for Victim Services.

In Ontario, all electronic waste recycling is governed by the rules of the Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES), a not-for-profit industry organization that oversees the responsible reuse and recycling of waste electronics through a program that includes 600 collection sites and numerous other affiliate sites across the province. Ensuring Ontario’s end-of-life electronics flow through the OES system is a key imperative to ensure that Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is managed to high safety and environmental standards, and to reduce the amount of WEEE and toxic and hazardous substances exported to developing countries. All OES-Contracted Primary Processors, and their downstream processors, are audited against the RQP for End-of-Life Electronics on behalf of the WEEE provincial stewardship programs operated by Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA), including OES. The RQP defines the minimum requirements for EOLE Processors and Recyclers to be considered for use under the provincial electronics recycling stewardship programs. The intent of the RQP is to ensure that EOLE products are managed in an environmentally sound manner that safeguards worker health and safety, and the environment from the point of primary processing to the point of final disposition. The RQP applies to both Processors and Recyclers, referred to jointly as 'Recyclers', and it does not replace or absolve the Recycler from any applicable Federal, Provincial/State/Territorial or other local regulatory requirements. .

Specific information about the College's Life Cycle Management of Hazardous materials is only available in the College's intranet site.