| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.42 |
| Liaison | Mary-Lee Townsend |
| Submission Date | Oct. 6, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Western University
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Stefanie
De Adder Sustainability Coordinator Facilities Management |
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:
A high percentage of chemical waste at Western consists of unopened containers, therefore, Western encourages people to avoid large volume purchases, as well as sharing chemicals that might otherwise be sent for disposal.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
When handling materials that require special attention, Western follows legislation imposed by the municipal, provincial and federal governments.
Western is currently using RPR Environmental (Responsible Chemical Waste Management) to deal with their hazardous waste. This company strives to be the leader in responsible waste management, while working with government, legal, risk management, health and safety and other professionals to ensure that all legal obligations of this industry are met.
At Western, all types of hazardous materials are collected once a week and accepted for disposal free of charge, provided that they meet the requirements outlined in the "Hazardous Materials Management Handbook".
http://www.uwo.ca/hr/form_doc/health_safety/doc/manuals/hazardous_handbook.pdf
Some of these requirements include:
- All containers in a laboratory must be completely labeled (responsibility of the individual laboratory or department).
- All hazardous waste containers must be packaged to ensure that the material cannot spill in the case of an accident.
- All labs are required to keep an inventory and labeling system in order to ensure hazardous materials are being managed effectively and safely. If not, this provides an opportunity to segregate according to their respective hazard classes.
- For safety and transportation reasons, Western’s chemical waste contractor does not accept any unidentified substances at any time. If identification of the "unknown" cannot be made, then a characterization of the waste based on physical and chemical properties is required prior to acceptance of the material by the chemical waste contractor.
- Disposal of all radioactive wastes must be in accordance with regulations under the NSC Act. Waste must be handled and disposed of in a way that prevents unreasonable risk to the public or the environment.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant hazardous material release incidents have occurred at Western in the past three years.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Although Western does not have a campus-wide inventory system, each laboratory on campus is required to have an up-to-date inventory of the chemicals they use, along with the updated material safety data sheets (MSDSs).
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all 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):
Western currently recycles batteries, ink cartridges, cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices.
Staff and faculty can bring their e-waste to the loading dock located at the Graphic Services Building or put them in one of the e-waste collection carts located in different areas of campus. Students can also locate various electronic waste recycling bins across campus for disposal, and during student move out in residences, bins are set up in common rooms to collect large quantities of e-waste.
If large quantities of e-waste are ready for disposal, students, staff and faculty are encouraged to contact Western's Client Services group, who will arrange for a pick up.
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
Western's Electronic Waste is currently accepted by BFI (Browning-Ferris Industries) which sends the electronic waste collected to designated Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) sites.
At these OES collection sites, used electronics are managed according to a high standard of worker health and safety and compliance to environmental protection and regulations; transportation, reuse/refurbish and recycling.
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:
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.