Kerry McCLuskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Aug 16/99) - It bothers Marcel Mason when his family picnics at the Sylvia Grinnell River are disturbed by falling ash and smoke from the Iqaluit dump.

It's that irritation and his environmental concern for his community, that has lead him to be an outspoken opponent of the open-burn method employed by the municipality at their waste site.

More specifically, the town currently burns about 80 per cent of the waste matter that comes into the approximately 18,000 square metre facility in open air fires contained in the compound. Along with the other 20 per cent of non-combustible materials that are compacted, the ash that hasn't been carried away by the wind is then buried. Mason wants this method of waste treatment to stop.

"We need a waste management system from the beginning to the end, from the time Joe Blow Consumer throws away his Styrofoam cup," said Mason.

His solution to the problem is to continue to burn the garbage, but to sort it first into recyclable and reusable materials and then to eliminate the rest in an incinerator.

"I would like to see a multi-stage high-temperature incinerator with no open-burn at all. I just don't think it's necessary," said Mason.

He might just get his wish. Because of dollars that were recently located by the department of community government and transportation, a consultant will be hired by the municipality to conduct a study on the different methods the community could use to dispose of its waste. Built in 1995, the current landfill, assuming it continues with its open-burn method, will be full by 2001.

With the call for proposals going out this week, Denis Bedard, the director of engineering and planning for the town, said the consultant should be on board by the middle of next month and that the study will take about six months.

"We're looking for a fairly in-depth study. We want the consultants to identify various technologies and to locate a site and to tell us which method is the most cost-effective," said Bedard.

The study will also look at the best way to close out and remediate the three municipal dump sites -- including the current facility -- that are no longer in use.

"When we build a new facility we have to ensure the old facility is properly covered and not polluting the ocean."

Bedard noted that there were several types of waste disposal technology available. He agreed with Mason and said it was imperative that the town at least look at something other than open-burn. He had concerns, however, about the financial cost to the town of employing a more environmentally-conscious manner of treatment.

"I really don't think that burning is an acceptable method anymore. We have to find other ways, but the question is, can the community afford it?"