Université de Sherbrooke
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management

The use of chemical products is widespread in the various teaching and research laboratories of a university. This fact being known, both training and the adoption of good practices are essential to better manage these wastes and maintain a healthy and safe environment. To that regard, the Work and Study Environment Health and Safety Division focuses on prevention and education and provides information on how to better manage chemical wastes in the absence of being able to eliminate them completely.

The Division's website includes a section on chemical products and on how to manage these types of waste, may they be liquid residual materials, solid residual materials or of other types (i.e. glass fragments (pipettes or broken glassware), sharps and needles, etc.). Before the begining of any experiment or teaching activity, each user of hazardous chemicals who will produce hazardous wastes must determine what will be the appropriate way for the ultimate disposal of the generated wastes, accordingly to the rules and principles of our management program. This is also applicable to biological and radiological wastes. As these residual materials cannot be completely eliminated, it is through a more responsible management of them that their impacts can be minimized, and this is the approach that the Université de Shebrooke has adopted at this time.
(https://www.usherbrooke.ca/smsp/securite/produits-chimiques#acc-7287-1240)

In addition, an Eco-responsibility research guide has been published in 2020 and is in use in the laboratries since then.
(https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/communaute/details/43536/)

There is a system for the collection, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes, through a weekly collection of residual hazardous materials in laboratories. Hazardous wastes are temporarily stored in three management centres, designed, and built accordingly to the relevant safety and environmental standards. The collected and sorted wastes are regularly disposed of by a company licensed to dispose of hazardous materials, in accordance with government requirements. In 2021, approximately 34,000 kg of hazardous chemical waste was contained.

The Division's website includes a section on shipment of hazardous materials, may these be biological materials, chemical materials or radioactive materials, and the procedure to follow. The Division also offers a "turnkey" shipping service to all members of the university community. Its staff is trained and certified to classify, package and document all hazardous materials, in compliance with current regulatory requirements.

(https://www.usherbrooke.ca/smsp/securite/transport-de-matieres-dangereuses)

There were no significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years.

The Quebec's Occupational Health and Safety Act requires that a list of hazardous materials be available in the workplace, as well as the descriptive sheets or related safety data sheets.

To meet these requirements, the Université de Sherbrooke has adopted in 2014 the Higher Education Cooperative for Hazardous Material and Equipment Tracking system (HECHMET) developed for Canadian universities. The inventories are available via a website (authenticated) and give opportunity to search and/or share chemicals. The data base also gives direct access to Chemwatch's (international company specializing in chemicals safety) safety data sheets.

The Work and Study Environment Health and Safety Division team is available to provide access to the site, to create locations containing hazardous materials and to produce the inventory of existing chemicals. Thereafter, each research team benefits from keeping the inventory up-to-date to easily find its products or avoid unnecessary orders.

(https://www.usherbrooke.ca/smsp/securite/produits-chimiques#acc-7287-1232)

USED BATTERIES
In order to always promote environmental protection, the Université de Sherbrooke implemented a waste battery collection system in 2009. With more than 20 collection points on the three campuses, this program redirected approximately 947 kg of waste away from landfills in 2021. All types of batteries are accepted. Used batteries are recovered using small orange bins strategically distributed on university campuses. They can also be found in the University's various faculties (i.e. Engineering, Science, Medicine).

CELLULAR PHONES
The Université de Sherbrooke implemented a personal telecommunications device recovery program in 2008. Thus, in partnership with Électrobac, the University collects from the university community cellular phones, personal assistants, pagers, used wireless phones and related accessories. Members of the university community may dispose of this material responsibly at the University in bins provided for this purpose.
(https://www.electrobac.com/ and https://recyclemyelectronics.ca/qc/)

COMPUTER EQUIPMENT
The University also collects all devices from information and communication technologies. The Information Technology Department is responsible for the internal reuse of remaining usable computer equipment.

For a complete list of electronic waste products, a recycling system guide is accessible on the sustainable development website.
(https://www.usherbrooke.ca/developpement-durable/matieres/cueillette)