Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.63
Liaison Dwayne Doornbosch
Submission Date June 24, 2021

STARS v2.2

Langara College
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Raymond Yeung
Manager Facilities Services
Facilites
"---" 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:
Langara departments that use hazardous materials for instructional purposes dispose of materials using fume hoods and autoclaves. Other materials are removed by our contracted waste disposal service provider (Sumas Environmental Services Inc.). Additionally, all construction/renovation areas are tested for asbestos prior to commencement. Any asbestos found is removed by a contracted service provider.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Langara's health and safety team have developed a fillable form to complete. The Hazardous Waste Disposal Request Form is completed by user groups and submitted to safety@langara.ca for processing. Records of this is kept in our file management system. The removal process is contracted out to Sumas Environmental Services Inc. who deal with the treatment and appropriate disposal of hazardous waste – including safe handling and transportation, and the highest feasible level of recycling, reuse and waste treatments.

For more information of Sumas Environmental Services Inc: https://sumas.net

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There have been no significant hazardous materials release incidents in the past three years at Langara College.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Langara's Biology and Chemistry Departments both have individual inventory systems for laboratory chemicals. The Health and Safety department is currently reviewing all chemicals used in the College and working towards establishing one master internal inventory system.

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:
For the Institution:
Computers with reasonable useful life are "scrubbed" (degaussing any data from it if applicable), and donated to Computers for Schools Plus (CFS+). Computers for Schools Plus program allows the extended use of electronic equipment, helps reduce the environmental impact of E-Waste and offers practical work experience to young Canadians to develop digital skills for the Canadian job market.

Anything that is not donated, such as A/V equipment, batteries, small electronics or electronics with no useful life is sent into the E-Waste stream, which is picked up by an external contractor, Urban Impact, to be diverted away from landfills and recycled.

For Students and Staff:
With funding provided by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), Langara has introduced a new and enhanced recycling station in the cafeteria. In addition to the regular recycling streams such as organics, mixed containers, mixed papers and refundable bottles & cans, students and employees will now be able to recycle soft plastics, cardboard, glass, electronic waste and batteries. All of these items are then picked up by an external contractor, Urban Impact, to be diverted away from landfills and recycled.


For more information:
- Computers for Schools Plus: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cfs-ope.nsf/eng/home

- Urban Impact Recycling programs:
https://urbanimpact.com/about-us
https://urbanimpact.com/service/electronic-waste-e-waste-recycling
https://urbanimpact.com/service/battery-recycling
https://urbanimpact.com/service/small-appliances

Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
No

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Langara_Hazardous_Waste_Disposal_Request_Form.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.