Imagine you are dressed in a white protective suit complete with gloves and slippers for your shoes. You are a hazardous waste technician and you are unloading a minivan full of household hazardous waste containers. This is the City's annual household hazardous waste roundup, where for ten days, the City campaigns to have residents bring their old paint cans, solvents, motor oil, and batteries to your waste handling facility for proper disposal.
The roundup is part of a public campaign to educate residents on the proper disposal of household hazardous wastes so they don't end up in landfills or down the drain. Instead, they are brought to you and you ensure that these common household chemicals are properly collected and disposed of without harm to the environment. As a hazardous waste technician, you have years of experience handling and disposing of hazardous substances and you know how important it is to follow proper procedures. When residents or industrial traffic arrives at your facility, you carefully remove the hazardous waste containers from the vehicle and check the inventory list that should accompany the containers.
When receiving hazardous waste, it is important that you can accurately identify what kind of waste has come in, where it has come from, and in what quantity. Once you have confirmed everything is clearly marked and the necessary paperwork has been filled out, you sort the containers. First, you identify which wastes can be recycled, for example, used motor oil or antifreeze. Those that cannot be recycled are inventoried according to their active ingredient and packed in plastic-lined drums to be shipped to specialized treatment and disposal facilities. When the drums are ready for shipping, you must complete a shipping manifest indicating the volume of waste being transported and the name of the company hauling it. Copies of the shipping manifest are sent with the transport company with the drums. When the drums reach their destination, a delivery confirmation notice will be sent to you. Once you have the delivery confirmation, you can be confident the hazardous waste is being treated and disposed of properly and not ending up in landfills or draining into watersheds.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as a hazardous waste technician:
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
"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.”
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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