Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.07
Liaison Michael Chapman
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Nova Scotia Community College
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Martha MacGowan
Project Assistant- Sustainability
Facilities & Engineering
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

All 13 NSCC campuses have been BOMABESt certified since 2009. As a requirement to this certification, each campus has a campus-specific Hazardous Waste Management program in place.

We look for ways of reducing our chemical waste and associated costs. For example, a chloride probe was purchased at our main laboratory at the Ivany Campus, which gives more consistent results and produces less hazardous waste than with the colourmetric method used previously for chloride determination.


A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:

All waste that is deemed hazardous is stored in the appropriate containers. It is properly handled according to the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. All staff and students are required to take an online WHMIS course and if students or staff will be working with hazardous materials they will be taught appropriate disposal methods. At the Ivany Campus, students are not allowed to enter the Water Resources lab until they have completed their WHMIS course.

All NSCC campuses that have hazardous waste/materials will store the materials according to WHMIS regulations. All potentially hazardous liquids are stored in secondary containment. A qualified contractor collects and ensures appropriate disposal of hazardous wastes.


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 incidents have occurred during the previous three years.

NSCC's Occupational Health Safety & Environmental Services team is dedicated to providing emergency preparedness training to all NSCC employees. A main component of this training is chemical spills training.


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

NSCC does not currently have a system that supports the redistribution and reuse of hazardous materials. As a college we are currently transitioning out of using hazardous products into more environmentally friendly options and use the proper disposal methods of the undesired chemicals to ensure they are not being reused.

For non-hazardous laboratory chemicals, NSCC utilizes local programs or contacts the municipality to inquire if the left over chemicals can be reused. If they cannot be reused they are properly disposed of.


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

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:

Every NSCC institution recycles their electronic waste. The electronic waste is collected and stored by the facilities team and is taken to local recycle depots. NSCC drops off it's electronics at EPRA-approved service providers in their area of the province.

Currently, our Truro campus accepts electronic waste generated from students and recycles it for them. It is also the location of our only residence hall. The Truro campus accepts all electronic waste generate by students living on campus and recycles it at the local recycling depot. All students, residents and non-residents are able to bring in any electronic waste and give it to the facilities staff for it to be recycled.


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

Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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