| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 45.28 |
| Liaison | Cynthia Philippe |
| Submission Date | May 12, 2021 |
Université du Québec à Montréal
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Cynthia
Philippe Sustainability advisor Service du développement organisationnel |
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:
UQAM offers training on:
- WHMIS - Laboratory Safety
- WHMIS - Laboratory Safety - Spill Response
- WHMIS and Hazardous Household Products - Workshop Safety
- Handling hydrofluoric acid
- Transportation of dangerous goods
All of these mandatory training courses provide a framework for operating the use of these hazardous materials to manage chemical risks, which includes reduction at the source of their utilization (https://sps.uqam.ca/gestion-risques-chimiques/).
There are also two institutional committees, on biohazards (https://sps.uqam.ca/biosecurite/) and radiation protection (https://sps.uqam.ca/radioprotection/), which ensure the diligent use of substances with biohazards and those requiring radiation protection. All requests for the safe use of these materials in a context where human health and safety take precedence with an end-of-use provision is made in the laws and regulations governing these activities.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
UQAM collect and dispose hazardous waste materials generated through its research and academic laboratories and operational activities.
The hazardous waste stream is sorted, consolidated and stored in secured facilities on campus. In compliance with relevant regulations the dangerous residues are then shipped to authorized environmental companies.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
During these 3 years (2017 to 2020), in 2018 there was a burst of a container of dangerous materials during transport caused by poor segregation of chemical waste. In 2019, there was a gas leak due to a faulty valve and in 2020, an explosion followed by a fire due to improper use of a device. All incidents are listed in the attached document (below).
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Not applicable
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:
There are 3 bins of Electrobac for the collect of small electronics (cell phones, tablets, cameras, chargers, headphones, ink cartridges and more than 100 other types of small e-waste). The entreprise Electrobac is certified by Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA), an industry-led, non-profit organization that operates regulated recycling programs across Canada : https://www.electrobac.com/certifications/
COOP UQAM is authorized drop-off points near UQAM for "Recycle my electronics"
https://www.recyclemyelectronics.ca/qc/where-can-i-recycle/
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:
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.