Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.78
Liaison Herbert Sinnock
Submission Date April 20, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Sheridan College (Ontario)
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Wai Chu Cheng
Sustainability Coordinator
Office for Sustainability
"---" 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:

Departments have different methods on reducing the amount of hazardous waste produced. These methods are standardized best practices within the department. For example, the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology prefers substituting or using minimum amounts of any hazardous chemicals. Section 3.6 of the Chemical/Environmental Student Manual states, “Substitute less hazardous materials or techniques whenever possible. There are many instances where highly toxic chemicals can be replaced by less toxic materials.”

The Textile department has introduced the use of natural dyes which are less toxic than their synthetic counterparts and are biodegradable. Traditional dyes in the textile industry are major pollutants as they are petrochemical derived. The department works with local restaurants, grocery stores, campus cafeteria, and greenhouses to procure natural sources. The department has held workshops on the use of natural dyes and eco-printing which uses reduced amounts of energy and water. In order to further promote the use of natural dyes, the Textiles department will be establishing their natural dye garden outside the studio. The dyes will be made onsite as opposed to relying on the ordering, purchasing, and shipping of dyes.


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

Departments that produce hazardous waste work with Occupational Health and Safety to arrange safe and appropriate disposal of waste. Chemical waste that cannot be treated within the chemistry and textiles departments are stored in appropriate containers on-site until disposed. An inventory of the collected waste is taken. Disposal of the waste occurs every 3 months when the departments contact the institution’s Occupational Health & Safety Specialist who makes arrangements with the waste disposal company (Hotz Environmental). The disposal company will carry out a lab pack on site and properly treat the chemicals at their facility.


A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:

None


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

Though there is no formal inventory system in place, departments that produce hazardous waste support the reuse of chemicals as a method of best practice.

Laboratory technicians are familiar with the lab experiments carried out by students in their respective labs. Many experiments in earlier programs require chemicals that are often synthesized by students in later programs. Arrangements are made prior to the semester to reuse chemicals created by students for other lab experiments.

The Textile department practices a variety of reuse and redistribution methods for chemicals. Leftover dyes produced by students can be stored in a small chemical-resistant container for later use or the use by other students.


Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all 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):

Sheridan has an electronic waste recycling program supported by Shift Recycling Inc. The company provides electronic waste collection bins at the Shipping/Receiving department on all campuses. They offer regular pick-up service. The technologists and all staff have been informed of the process on the disposal of obsolete or broken electronics that cannot be repaired.

Additionally, Sheridan held an “E-Waste Collection Day” across all four campuses on April 9, 2014. The event encouraged students, staff, and members of the community to bring in their electronics waste for recycling.


A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:

Shift Recycling reports the following information on their website, which indicates that they are recycling e-waste responsibly, that workers’ basic safety is protected, and that environmental standards are met (http://shiftrecycling.com/about.php):

“Shift recycles electronics with the following qualifications:
Certified - ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007
Ministry of the Environment - ECA Number 2093-8UQKRU (https://www.accessenvironment.ene.gov.on.ca/instruments/1042-8RZQ7W-14.pdf)
Ontario Electronic Stewardship – Approved Primary Processor MS0142” (http://www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca/service-providers/recycler-processor/approved-primary-processors/)


The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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