| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 63.24 |
| Liaison | Victoria Ho |
| Submission Date | Feb. 8, 2024 |
OCAD University
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Louis
Toromoreno Director Safety, Security & Campus Operations |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Hazardous waste minimization and disposal
Yes
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Studios are now mostly solvent-free and use alternative products and materials as a best practice. Studio technicians provide education to students on reducing the usage of and exposure to hazardous materials, thereby reducing hazardous waste production.
School‐wide restrictions on chemicals applicable to all thesis studios:
No aerosol spraying (fixative, spray paint, adhesive, etc.) in any space other than designated locations (please consult with the Studio Technician for spray booth locations).
No Turpentine, Acetone, Damar Varnish, Toluene, Xylene, D‐Limonene or Drying agent (siccative) is permitted in the studios. These chemicals have been found to be harmful to your health and can lead to chronic health complications.
Label all containers clearly with the correct contents.
Do not pour solvent or scrape paint (Acrylic or Oil) into the sinks.
OCAD U also limits hazardous products used on site such as by requiring green cleaning products, designated within our cleaning contract.
Photo Centre
- The Photo Centre has a silver recovery system whereby silver compounds are removed from exhausted traditional darkroom fixers before these fixers go down the drain. This is roughly revenue neutral, as the cost to replace the silver collection cartridges is similar to the payment for collected silver.
-When staff periodically notice unnecessary waste of chemicals by students, the Technicians educate students about conserving chemicals and sometimes speak to the class instructor as well. For instance, technicians noticed higher than normal volume use of silver nitrate associated with historical processes in Winter 2023 term, so the Photo Technician communicated with the instructor who presented the issue of chemical conservation to the class.
Printmaking and Publications
- Moved away from inks with dryers. Most ink dryers used some concentration of cobalt.
- At this time, Printmaking and Publications has very limited solvent usage and has moved to vegetable based cleaning agents in place of solvent.
- Moved away from nitric acid for etching processes, replacing that with the much less hazardous ferric chloride.
- Made physical changes to the acid room, so students no longer decant acids.
- Stopped using the more volatile photo sensitizers and switched away from solvent wash out photo processes.
- Printmaking and Publications does use oil-based inks, linseed oil based, and the hazardous part is the cleanup with solvents which is addressed by switching to the vegetable based cleaning agent.
School‐wide restrictions on chemicals applicable to all thesis studios:
No aerosol spraying (fixative, spray paint, adhesive, etc.) in any space other than designated locations (please consult with the Studio Technician for spray booth locations).
No Turpentine, Acetone, Damar Varnish, Toluene, Xylene, D‐Limonene or Drying agent (siccative) is permitted in the studios. These chemicals have been found to be harmful to your health and can lead to chronic health complications.
Label all containers clearly with the correct contents.
Do not pour solvent or scrape paint (Acrylic or Oil) into the sinks.
OCAD U also limits hazardous products used on site such as by requiring green cleaning products, designated within our cleaning contract.
Photo Centre
- The Photo Centre has a silver recovery system whereby silver compounds are removed from exhausted traditional darkroom fixers before these fixers go down the drain. This is roughly revenue neutral, as the cost to replace the silver collection cartridges is similar to the payment for collected silver.
-When staff periodically notice unnecessary waste of chemicals by students, the Technicians educate students about conserving chemicals and sometimes speak to the class instructor as well. For instance, technicians noticed higher than normal volume use of silver nitrate associated with historical processes in Winter 2023 term, so the Photo Technician communicated with the instructor who presented the issue of chemical conservation to the class.
Printmaking and Publications
- Moved away from inks with dryers. Most ink dryers used some concentration of cobalt.
- At this time, Printmaking and Publications has very limited solvent usage and has moved to vegetable based cleaning agents in place of solvent.
- Moved away from nitric acid for etching processes, replacing that with the much less hazardous ferric chloride.
- Made physical changes to the acid room, so students no longer decant acids.
- Stopped using the more volatile photo sensitizers and switched away from solvent wash out photo processes.
- Printmaking and Publications does use oil-based inks, linseed oil based, and the hazardous part is the cleanup with solvents which is addressed by switching to the vegetable based cleaning agent.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
Hazardous Waste
Safety, Security & Campus Operations handles the transportation of dangerous goods and the removal of hazardous waste on campus in an environmentally responsible manner; maintaining compliance that is governed by legislative requirements contained within the Occupational Health & Safety Act, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, as well as fire and building codes. The Distribution Services team, under the supervision of Manager, Campus Operations, are the only individuals authorized to receive and transport dangerous goods and in the removal of hazardous waste materials.
Hazardous and non-hazardous waste is disposed of through an MOE approved waste handler (monthly), RPR Environmental, as the designated waste hauler. RPR Environmental is contracted to come on-site, fill out paperwork for Ministry of the Environment and sign on behalf of OCAD U, and ultimately remove the hazardous waste. RPR Environmental removes wastes such as solvents within 90 days of waste production, as per Ministry of Environment regulations.
OCAD U members can also submit an email request to Campus Operations to come and remove special or hazardous waste by filling out a Work Request form. Only designated staff who have completed Transporting Dangerous Goods (TDG) training and Regulation 347 training may handle hazardous waste removal requests. RPR Environmental provide certified trainers for the Transporting Dangerous Goods training.
All requests for any chemical stored in the Chemical Storage Room on campus are arranged through Distribution Services using the Request for Chemical Form.
In the Photo Centre, nearly-empty Epson printer ink cartridges are currently shipped back to Epson as part of their corporate recycling program, as these cartridges contain residual inks and an electronic chip.
Safety, Security & Campus Operations handles the transportation of dangerous goods and the removal of hazardous waste on campus in an environmentally responsible manner; maintaining compliance that is governed by legislative requirements contained within the Occupational Health & Safety Act, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, as well as fire and building codes. The Distribution Services team, under the supervision of Manager, Campus Operations, are the only individuals authorized to receive and transport dangerous goods and in the removal of hazardous waste materials.
Hazardous and non-hazardous waste is disposed of through an MOE approved waste handler (monthly), RPR Environmental, as the designated waste hauler. RPR Environmental is contracted to come on-site, fill out paperwork for Ministry of the Environment and sign on behalf of OCAD U, and ultimately remove the hazardous waste. RPR Environmental removes wastes such as solvents within 90 days of waste production, as per Ministry of Environment regulations.
OCAD U members can also submit an email request to Campus Operations to come and remove special or hazardous waste by filling out a Work Request form. Only designated staff who have completed Transporting Dangerous Goods (TDG) training and Regulation 347 training may handle hazardous waste removal requests. RPR Environmental provide certified trainers for the Transporting Dangerous Goods training.
All requests for any chemical stored in the Chemical Storage Room on campus are arranged through Distribution Services using the Request for Chemical Form.
In the Photo Centre, nearly-empty Epson printer ink cartridges are currently shipped back to Epson as part of their corporate recycling program, as these cartridges contain residual inks and an electronic chip.
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
None to speak of, OCAD U has strict protocols for removing hazardous materials within 90 days and to minimizing the volumes of hazardous materials stored and/or produced on campus.
OCAD U staff are trained to identify hazardous materials such as abandoned in student lockers and to remove/dispose as appropriate.
**Devorah to check, would be logged with Joint Health & Safety Committee.
OCAD U staff are trained to identify hazardous materials such as abandoned in student lockers and to remove/dispose as appropriate.
**Devorah to check, would be logged with Joint Health & Safety Committee.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
At 100 McCaul, the laboratories include Plastics Studio, Printmaking Studio, Photography Studio. At 205 Richmond St. W., the lab includes the Maker Lab.
https://www.ocadu.ca/services/studios/
HECHMET system is used by all Ontario universities to catalogue chemicals that are present on campus. HECHMET allows OCAD University to:
• Comply with regulatory requirements.
• Monitor the locations and types of hazardous materials present.
• Track chemicals from receipt to disposal using barcode labels.
• Facilitate appropriate disposal.
https://www.ocadu.ca/services/studios/
HECHMET system is used by all Ontario universities to catalogue chemicals that are present on campus. HECHMET allows OCAD University to:
• Comply with regulatory requirements.
• Monitor the locations and types of hazardous materials present.
• Track chemicals from receipt to disposal using barcode labels.
• Facilitate appropriate disposal.
Part 2. Electronic waste diversion
Yes
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
Yes
If yes to either of the above, provide:
OCAD U repairs laptops in-house.
Any leased fleet and non-leased fleet computers that have reached end-of-life are processed once a year in the summer for proper e-waste recycling through Quantum Lifecycle, which is an industry-led not-for-profit organization that operates regulated recycling programs across Canada. Quantum Lifecycle is certified by the Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) and handles pickup, recycling, and the destruction of any data on devices.
Campus Operations has a designated waste cage for e-waste (e.g. computers, printers, lamps, batteries up to a certain size) to receive and store e-waste from staff and students. Once filled, the designated hauler removes the e-waste and must provide OCAD U with a certificate of destruction.
Any leased fleet and non-leased fleet computers that have reached end-of-life are processed once a year in the summer for proper e-waste recycling through Quantum Lifecycle, which is an industry-led not-for-profit organization that operates regulated recycling programs across Canada. Quantum Lifecycle is certified by the Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) and handles pickup, recycling, and the destruction of any data on devices.
Campus Operations has a designated waste cage for e-waste (e.g. computers, printers, lamps, batteries up to a certain size) to receive and store e-waste from staff and students. Once filled, the designated hauler removes the e-waste and must provide OCAD U with a certificate of destruction.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Yes
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
OCAD U's e-waste recycler, the Electronic Recycling Association, is an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Registered Company.
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.