| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.76 |
| Liaison | Eric Meliton |
| Submission Date | Jan. 16, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Wilfrid Laurier University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Geoff
Schwarz Occupational Hygienist & Environmental Health and Safety Specialist Safety, Health, Environment & Risk 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:
In keeping with environmental responsibility, Laurier recognizes the importance of minimizing waste generation. The following principles are encouraged in labs, are included on the website, and have a section of the Lab Safety Manual dedicated to them:
-Buy only what you need.
-Miniaturize experiments.
-Choose non-hazardous substances over hazardous substances (e.g. use digital or ethanol-based thermometers over mercury-based thermometers).
-Return unused material to the supplier if possible (e.g. gas cylinders).
-Redistribute usable materials.
-Recycle/recover materials when this can be accomplished efficiently, effectively and
safely.
SHERM (Safety, Health, Environment & Risk management) provides WHMIS and laboratory safety training for hazardous materials to all staff members which emphasizes these guidelines.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All hazardous waste is disposed through a third party company (RPR Environmental). RPR Environmental takes all waste from our laboratories and take it back to their facility for processing. Some of it is neutralized, some is recycled and some is disposed of. RPR is registered with the Ministry of Environment and Laurier is fully registered with HWIN to dispose of all wastes on campus.
Hazardous waste is collected from various areas on campus. They include labs, boiler rooms, and storage rooms. All hazardous waste is brought to the lock up in the Science Research Building. RPR Environmental from Stoney Creek picks up the waste each month from the lock up.
Brantford Campus:
Hazardous waste is collected from various areas on campus and brought to the Carnegie Building storage closet. RPR Environmental from Stoney Creek picks up the waste upon request.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
There have been no incidents recorded.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
The University does not reuse or redistribute laboratory chemicals.
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:
At Wilfrid Laurier University there are three programs in place to recycle, reuse, and refurbish electronics: E-Waste Recycling, Recycle Your Cell, and Computer Reuse Program.
For the E-Waste Recycling, the Facilities and Asset Management department will pick up your e-waste and dispose of it properly through our partnership with Greentec. The money raised is used to subsidize our fluorescents disposal costs and is also donated to The Nature Conservancy. There is a drop-off location for e-waste items or you can place a request on the website. Approved E-Waste items are as follows: monitors, towers, keyboards, laptops & computers, scanners, printers, computer mice, TVs, and fax machines.
For the Recycle Your Cell initiative, the Laurier Sustainability office has partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) of Canada to responsibly recycle old cellphones on our Brantford and Waterloo campuses. Cellphones can be brought to campus and dropped off in a collection box. Reusable phones are refurbished and redistributed in developing markets. Some of these phones are donated to hospitals in North America for patients who need access to emergency 911 calls. Phones, batteries and accessories that are not reusable are broken down and recycled according to the highest industry standards.
Lastly, the Computer Reuse Program is an informal effort here at the university. The Faculty of Education and ITS have partnered to repair and refresh older laptops (after wiping the disks of all data). The refurbished laptops are then sent on to Haiti for use in the school system there.
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:
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.