| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 47.19 |
| Liaison | Kayla Tillapaugh |
| Submission Date | May 30, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Selkirk College
OP-25: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.75 / 1.00 |
Ron
Zaitsoff Director of Facilities Facilities and Maintenance |
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:
Fewer hazardous materials are brought on site for lab experiments, and an effort is being made to purchase more environmentally friendly cleaning products. For example, very few chlorinated cleaning products are purchased by the College.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Every summer, a company called SyberTech Waste Reduction Ltd. removes the hazardous waste that has been collected and stored on campus.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
No hazardous material release incidents have occurred.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Selkirk College faculty assistants for each school maintain an inventory of chemicals used within their respective areas. Instructors design experiments to use non-toxic reagents. Experiments are also designed to use small quantities of reagents. The result is experiments generally do not generate toxic waste. In situations where toxic wastes are generated - for example organic solvents - the wastes are stored in a special facility on campus. Periodically, a licensed agency is contracted to come to the college to safely dispose of the waste.
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):
Electronic waste is taken to local "return-it" collection sites that have been authorized by the Electronic Product Recycling Association of BC. There are sites located in both Nelson and Castlegar.
A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:
The Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) of BC and Encorp Pacific deliver the government approved End-of-Life Electronics Recycling Program throughout the province. An excerpt from the "Return-It" website describes in detail the steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly through the program:
"EPRA is committed to recycling end-of-life electronics collected in a responsible manner that protects the environment as well as worker health and safety. EPRA only works with recyclers who have been audited and approved under the national Recycler Qualification Program, designed by the electronics industry to ensure that electronic waste is managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner. This means that all recyclers working on behalf of EPRA are prohibited from exporting electronics or substances of concern to non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations, and we neither permit nor support the use of prison labour for processing equipment. In addition, EPRA requires enhanced worker health and safety provisions with downstream accountability. Further, our Recycler Qualification Office audits each stage of the recycling process to ensure that recyclers are maintaining appropriate environmental, health, and safety controls, and properly handling all materials." (<www.return-it.ca>)
Also, the IT department, in partnership with the library, administers a computer refurbishing program. Some computers, rather than being recycled, are refurbished and given to students as draw-prizes.
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.