Facilities Management

Waste Management & Recycling

Do your part

  • Flatten cardboard boxes and place beside recycling bins.
  • Don't place any recyclable item in the regular garbage, or in any exterior waste bin  - it will end up in the landfill waste stream

Electronics Recycling Program

Electronic products will be collected, wiped of data, and transported to an approved provincial recycling depot.

Materials from the depot are transferred to a plant where metals, glass, and plastic are recycled into new products.

To arrange for pick-up of your electroinic products, login into the Electronics Recycling Program sharepoint page and fill out the E-recycling form.

 

Indoor Waste Bin Standards

  • Please visit the Office of Sustainability page for the latest version of the Indoor Waste Bin Standards, which specify waste bins and signage for different spaces on campus.
  • Highlights of the standard include:
    • Building hallways will have four-bin systems including Paper,  Recyclables, Organics, and Garbage (PROG). 
    • Offices and residence rooms will be provided with a transfer bin to collect their waste before sorting it in the hallway PROG

We Recycle

  • Paper: Clean and dry paper, newsprint, glossy magazines and flyers, boxboard.
  • Recyclables: Beverage containers; all plastic containers; tin, steel, and aluminum cans; clean aluminum foil and plates; tetra packs; plastic bags; glass bottles and containers.
  • Cardboard: We request that you flatten cardboard boxes prior to placing them out for collection.

For more detailed information refer to the "What Goes Where?" guide below.

Organic Waste

  • Organic Waste: All food waste, kitchen paper towel, paper napkins, food wrapping, wax paper, paper plates.
  • The grounds-keeping crew diverts leaves, grass clippings and branches to a proper composting facility for the Halifax campuses. At the AC on-campus yard waste, manure, and biomass ash is used to create compost for campus use.

Landfill Waste

  • Waste is collected in and outside everyday from Dalhousie buildings' four bin systems. Custodians then bring the waste to the dumpster. In Halifax, waste is brought to the warehouse for compaction versus instead of having dumpsters across campus.  The hauler collects waste from the compactor (every couple of days depending on volume) and brings the material to the landfill in HRM at Otter Lake landfill (municipal landfill), 30 km away and the Colchester Balefill approximately 20 km away.
  • Please do not place cardboard, metal, renovation/construction debris, or other recyclable items in exterior waste dumpsters.

Specialized Waste

  • Please refer to the Revised Procedures for Chemical Waste Disposal [67 KB PDF] in preparing your chemical waste for collection.  If you have questions regarding these procedures, please contact Steve Beaton, the Chemical Safety Officer, at Steve.Beaton@dal.ca or (902) 494-1934.
  • Please visit the Office of Sustainability: Universal Waste Page for recycling information about batteries, florescent bulbs, electronics, paint, printer cartridges, and white goods. If you have any questions about the battery program or if you would like to obtain a battery box: contact Client Reception at (902) 494-3476.
  • Dalhousie diverts 75% of its construction and demolition waste from both small internal jobs and larger projects completed by external contractors. Consult the Office of Sustainability C&D report for more information.

What Goes Where?

Please consult the Dalhousie Waste Management Guide (aka the "What Goes Where" guide) for comprehensive sorting lists and information on reusing surplus goods on campus and the proper management of unique material such as printer cartridges.

Contact us

If you have any questions relating to waste management or recycling, please contact Mike Wilkinson at (902) 494-8396 or M.Wilkinson@dal.ca