Hazardous Waste Technician

Dave Howes

"I knew that it was going to be an up-and-coming field,” recalls hazardous waste technician Dave Howes about his decision to major in environmental science. At the time, Dave was taking general science courses at university when he discovered the new faculty of Environmental Science. "Instead of getting a general science degree, I wanted to major in something that was interesting to me and had good job potential when I was done.” Almost a decade later, Dave is pursuing two careers within the same hazardous waste management company. Officially known as a technical services coordinator, Dave not only works as a hazardous waste technician but as a computer IT technician. "I wear two hats here.

I wear an environmental hat and a computer hat. I love the mix of responsibilities!” When he’s wearing his environmental hat, Dave’s responsibilities are varied. He can be found training staff or clients on the handling or transportation of hazardous goods. He is also responsible for researching project-specific federal and provincial hazardous waste regulations and writing proposals to update the company’s hazardous waste licences. Dave spends much of his time at his desk, but once a week he heads out into the field to visit the company’s hazardous waste treatment facility south of town.

There he assists others with a variety of duties, including conducting environmental audits of the facility, "just to make sure we’re in compliance with federal and provincial regulations.” One of Dave’s responsibilities is coordinating his company’s emergency spill response unit. He administers a crew of eight, who are on call 24 hours year-round. "When you get the call, you drop everything you’re doing and you’re off and running.” The responsibility is not only stressful but time-consuming. Cleaning up a spill can take as long as two weeks to complete. "There’s a lot more to handling hazardous waste than most people realize.”

This includes determining how to clean-up a spill without harming the environment, transporting the hazardous waste to a treatment facility, and processing the waste. It also includes ensuring the waste is transported and processed according to strict federal and provincial hazardous waste regulations. One mistake and Dave’s company could face thousands of dollars in fines, or the environment or people could be harmed in the process. "This job really keeps me on my toes.”