Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 80.45
Liaison Tori Grant
Submission Date Dec. 13, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Calgary
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Kathy Pham
Co-Op Communications Coordinator
OS
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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:
Environmental Health and Safety has developed a number of comprehensive health and safety programs to direct and provide guidance to the University community with respect to reducing chemical waste. These programs have been developed to control recognized hazards. Reduction programs include the Asbestos Management Plan, Chematix, Fire Prevention, the Hot Work and Dust policy, Mercury Abatement, Radiation Safety and Respiratory Protection.

A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University of Calgary's Environment, Health, and Safety unit oversees programs and codes of practice to control hazards - including hazardous material disposal. Disposal programs have been developed for 18 chemical substances according to the Occupational Health & Safety Code: Arsenic, Benzene, Beryllium, Butadiene, Cadmium, Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles, Dibromoethane, Ethylene Oxide, Hydrazine, Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S), Isocyanates, Lead, Bromide, Hydrazine, Perchorates, Silica, Vinyl, Chloride and Zinc Chromate. Codes of Practice govern the storage, handling, use and disposal specific hazardous materials. For a full list of programs and codes of practice, please refer to: http://www.ucalgary.ca/safety/program

A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
The University has no hazardous material release incidents.

A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The University uses ChematixTM, a chemical management software which includes a chemical inventory and tracking system. This program facilitates the sharing of surplus chemicals, thus reducing the need for one lab to procure a chemical another lab may have in excess. ChematixTM software currently includes four management modules and is integrated into main campus and Foothills campus labs. • Waste Management – Provides for electronic submission of waste pickup and waste regulatory compliance • Inspection - This module is used to maintain, conduct and follow up on laboratory and workshop inspections • Biologistix – Is used for the permitting and inventory of biological substances • Radiologistix – Manages the permits, inventory, contamination monitoring, and reporting compliance of radioactive materials

Part 2 

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:
Students' Union e-waste is recycled through Call2Recycle which is R2 and e-stewards certified. Electronic waste for the institution is managed by our Supply Chain Management team. The team collects e-waste from departments and units across campus, and ships them to a Geep Calgary location. Geep provides data secure demanufacturing/recycling and reuse/ remarketing services. Approximately 98% of e-waste from the University of Calgary is recycled or recovered in this process. Geep is certified under ARMA (Alberta Recycling Management Authority), ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and COR (Workplace Safety Certificate).

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

Optional Fields 

Electronic waste recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill or incinerator during the most recent year for which data is available during the previous three years:
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/safety/program

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

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

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.