| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.44 |
| Liaison | Mike Wilson |
| Submission Date | Jan. 29, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Victoria
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Dean
Rysstad OHSE Consultant Occupational Health, Safety and Environment |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
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
None
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UVic has a number of initiatives underway to reduce hazardous chemical waste. This includes a mercury thermometer exchange program with a goal to remove the majority of mercury thermometers from the science labs, reducing risk to human health and environmental exposures related to broken thermometers. Over 325 mercury thermometers were taken out of the system and exchanged for less toxic alcohol-based thermometers and the old mercury thermometers were sent for hazardous waste disposal. On a go forward basis, labs are encouraged to use only non- mercury thermometers.
Also,UVic promotes hazardous waste reducing initiatives in labs through our Green Labs website. One example is the use of MIT’s Green Chemical Substitution Tool (http://ohs.uvic.ca/environment/greenlabs.php) where faculty, staff and students can look up chemicals used in their labs and identify less hazardous alternatives. One example of a chemical substitution we are promoting is the use of SYBR® Safe DNA Gel Stain instead of Ethidium Bromide, a potent mutagen, which has been the standard in microbiology for decades. Many labs on campus have already made the switch to eliminate Ethidium Bromide from their lab environment which has significantly reduced the hazard level in the lab, and has also significantly reduced the toxicity of the hazardous waste produced.
None
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UVic’s Hazardous Waste Management program utilizes specialized contractors to collect, package and dispose of hazardous wastes generated on campus. The waste is transported to various off-site facilities for treatment and final disposal. Additionally, this program ensures compliance with the Capital Regional District's Source Control & Sewer Use by-law and the its Laboratory Code of Practice, which limits discharge of liquid waste into the sewer system. See: http://www.crd.bc.ca/wastewater/sourcecontrol/bylaw.htm and http://www.crd.bc.ca/wastewater/sourcecontrol/business/laboratory.htm.
None
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
None to report.
None
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Each laboratory on campus maintains an inventory of their chemicals on a central university database. Through the use of this online inventory, labs are able to search the database and share chemicals with other labs if requested.
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Yes
None
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s):
All e-waste is collected by UVic's surplus assets coordinator and either re-purposed, or sent to local recycling facilities. Nothing is sent to the landfill or shipped overseas. See: http://web.uvic.ca/purc/asset.php and http://web.uvic.ca/purc/ewaste.php. Once or twice a year, UVic hosts e-waste recycling days where students and staff can drop off personal used electronics for recycling, free of charge, and are given a pizza coupon for participating.
None
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
All e-waste is sent to local recycling facilities that specialize in e-waste according to provincial guidelines. See: http://www.return-it.ca/electronics/.
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous and electronic-waste recycling programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UVic is committed to the environmental health and safety of our natural environment, students, staff and faculty. In 2012, an official policy on this subject was passed, see; http://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/assets/docs/policies/SS9200_3250_.pdf. This includes the safe use and disposal of hazardous chemical waste from labs through various initiatives. This includes a thermator exchange program which has resulted in over 325 mercury thermometers being taken out of the system and exchanged for less toxic alcohol-based thermometers and the old mercury thermometers sent for hazardous waste disposal. Uvic has also created a Green Labs website for user training on the safest lab practices, see: https://ohs.uvic.ca/environment/greenlabs.php.
UVic’s Hazardous Waste Management program utilizes specialized contractors to collect, package and dispose of hazardous wastes generated on campus. The waste is transported to various off-site facilities for treatment and final disposal in compliance with local government regulations.
All e-waste is collected by UVic's surplus asset coordinator and either re-purposed, or sent to local recycling facilities. Nothing is sent to the landfill or shipped overseas. See: http://web.uvic.ca/purc/asset.php and http://web.uvic.ca/purc/ewaste.php. Once or twice a year, UVic hosts e-waste recycling days where students and staff can drop off personal used electronics for recycling, free of charge, and are given a pizza coupon for participating.
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.