Yellowknife (July 23/03) - When the city announced it was considering ending scavenging at the dump, it touched a nerve with Yellowknifers.

We asked people to call our voice-mail poll to register their opinions. Of 34 callers, 30 said they wanted scavenging to remain. The other four callers didn't register a vote.

Here are some of their comments:

"If it wasn't for the dump we wouldn't have furniture."

"We have got many valuable items at the dump over the years and it would be a shame if these items were not used. Many people do take their things there leaving them out in the open, hoping that somebody who can use them will pick them up. It's one of the benefits of living in Yellowknife."

"I think the city is using insurance as an excuse for not properly dealing with recycling issues within the city. large cities have problems in the south where to put garbage because they have also not dealt with the issue."

"The easy way through insurance (concerns) is to have people sign a waiver. If West Edmonton Mall can (get people to) sign a waiver to go on a large roller coaster the City of Yellowknife is probably smart enough to do the same thing. That would certainly clear any liability on the city's part."

"I think scavenging at the dump is very important. I don't want to our landfill getting filled up sooner than necessary."

"Scavenging ... is the best thing the city can do to keep the dump low because people reuse what's been dumped there."

"It is recycling and here they are pushing down our throats throughout Canada that recycling (is good) and here's something that they don't want us to do.

"Let's be creative and find ways to accommodate our respective needs. If it's working, let's make it better. Let's not break it."

"The idea of being a throw away society is actually terrible and that's why we have such large dump sites. It's a wonderful opportunity for people to use lumber to build decks, furnish cabins. It has been a wonderful experience for my children to see how we can reuse things that other people have no use for any longer."