| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.79 |
| Liaison | Mike Wilson |
| Submission Date | Jan. 27, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Victoria
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Amanda
Muench OHSE Consultant Occ Health, Safety & Envir |
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?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UVic instituted a mercury thermometer exchange program which removed the majority of mercury thermometers from the science labs. 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.
Another 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.
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. The program ensures compliance with Federal, provincial and local municipal regulations, namely, the Capital Regional District's Source Control & Sewer Use by-law and associated 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.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
None to report.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Each laboratory on campus is required to maintain 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 upon request.
Also, there is a lab clean-out protocol which offers any unused chemical to alternate labs before going for final disposal through the hazardous waste system.
It is also encouraged to order chemical in minimum quantities.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
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:
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.
E-waste disposal is strictly regulated in British Columbia by the Environmental Management Act’s Recycling Regulation. This act allows the provincial authorities to award sole responsibility for e-waste recycling to a single organization, in this case the BC Electronic Product Recycling Association (EPRA), under their publicly available Stewardship Plan (http://recyclemyelectronics.ca/bc/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/EPRABCStewardshipPlan.pdf). Encorp Pacific LTD agents on Vancouver Island provide electronic waste recycling for the University of Victoria. The chain is a bit complicated, but the Encorp agents, are considered full service ERPA drop-off locations. Encorp uses R2 certified organizations as primary vendors to provide recycling services for the designated end-of-life electronics collected under Encorp’s Return-It Electronics program in British Columbia.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
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:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
See also http://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/topics/waste/recycle/index.php regarding e-waste.
See also http://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/topics/waste/recycle/index.php regarding e-waste.
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.