| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.26 |
| Liaison | Karen Oberer |
| Submission Date | Jan. 17, 2024 |
McGill University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Christian
Bouchard Manager, Waste Management Program University Services |
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:
Hazardous Waste Management (HWM) conducts training sessions for faculty, staff, and students in regards to waste handling in addition to standard training from Environmental Health & safety (WHMIS, biosafety, and radiation course). All laboratories are inspected every 18 months to identify conformity to University safety standards.
https://www.mcgill.ca/hwm/training
McGill's HWM unit uses a "Delay and Decay" system to ensure the removal from the waste stream of all radioisotopes that can readily and easily be decayed. Under this system, highly radioactive isotopes are properly stored and labeled until their radioactivity is minimal. They can then be disposed of as low-activity waste or regular garbage, depending on our institutional license. Moreover, the lead pigs from the isotope vials are collected and recycled.
https://www.mcgill.ca/hwm/disposal-guidelines/radioactive
Hazardous Waste Management also collects the following items for recycling, thus diverting them from the waste stream: cell phones, alkaline and rechargeable batteries, lead acid batteries, toner cartridges, IT equipment and lab equipment.
https://www.mcgill.ca/hwm/disposal-guidelines/recycling
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
All our disposal guidelines are detailed here: https://www.mcgill.ca/hwm/disposal-guidelines
Buildings with wet laboratories are equipped with dedicated hazardous waste rooms that are emptied on a weekly basis.
- All hazardous waste collected are sent to a hazardous waste transfer centre.
- Chemical waste is packaged or mixed according to their chemical compatibility and shipped out for final disposal (neutralization, landfill, incineration).
- Biomedical waste is sterilized or incinerated depending on the composition of the waste
- Radioactive waste is decayed and landfilled
- Electronic waste is sent to an Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) certified service provider
- Toner cartridges are sent to the Mira foundation (https://www.mira.ca/en/recycling-printer-cartridges/introduction)
- Batteries are shipped to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) to be recycled
- Paint is shipped to Ecopeinture to be recycled (https://www.ecopeinture.ca/en/)
- Oil and oily containers are shipped to GFL to be recycled (https://gflenv.com/our-services/for-business/commercial-liquid-special-waste/automotive-fluid-services/used-motor-oil/)
- Refrigerated units are shipped to Puresphera for metal and freon recycling (https://www.puresphera.com/en)
- Scrap metal is sent to the scrap yard
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No significant release of hazardous material over the last 3 years.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
All McGill laboratories are using the myLab system to track their chemical inventory. The system has a "share" option where other Principal Investigators (PI) can see what other PI have in stock. Also, Environmental Health and Safety and Hazardous Waste Management are responsible for laboratory decommissioning, and are promoting the relocation of abandoned/unused 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:
Procurement Services is responsible through the IT Asset Management Regulation Directive, for the disposal and/or reuse of unwanted IT equipment purchased with operating funds at McGill University.
If the IT Asset and IT Technical Stewards determine that the computer does not meet minimum standards for repurpose at McGill, the IT Technical Steward creates a Hazardous Waste Management Work Order to arrange pickup for the computer(s).
Hazardous Waste Management then determines whether the asset can be refurbished for use outside of McGill, or recycled. Before such disposal, all personal and University data on the computer's hard drive must be erased.
The items are collected, sorted, then shipped to be recycled by a service provider determined by a call for quotes. The service provider with the best quote gets audited by our Environmental Health and Safety and Hazardous Waste Management department for their environmental practices and gets the contract if the result is to our satisfaction.
Students are also able to drop off their used electronics to HWM. In the past, HWM has also worked with Reboot, a student group that refurbishes unwanted laptops and sends them out for reuse in the McGill community.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Website of McGill's certified electronics recycler: https://www.ecyclesolutions.com/en/
eCycle Solutions facilities each hold the following certifications:
ISO 14001: Environmental management
OHSAS 18001: Occupational health & safety
R2: Responsible Recycling for electronics repair & recycling
RQO: Electronics Recycling Standard (ERS)
Website of McGill's certified electronics recycler: https://www.ecyclesolutions.com/en/
eCycle Solutions facilities each hold the following certifications:
ISO 14001: Environmental management
OHSAS 18001: Occupational health & safety
R2: Responsible Recycling for electronics repair & recycling
RQO: Electronics Recycling Standard (ERS)
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.