Philippe Morin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 24, 2007

PAULATUK - How much litter can a community of 400 people produce?

The answer might surprise you, as it did students of Angik school last month.

Shannon Green, Grade 4 student at Angik school in Paulatuk, examines her dirty gloves, seeming to say "how could people be this messy?" - photo courtesy of Angik school / Jessica Schmidt -

On Aug. 24, the Paulatuk students gathered outside the school to clean up the area.

They found more than 40 bags worth of garbage, strewn about the grounds.

Teacher Jessica Schmidt said she was surprised by the amount of trash collected.

She added students were good sports about cleaning, since the afternoon was part of a contest between student teams, which always compete for good-deed points.

"We did it because of the jamboree that happened over the summer. The amount of garbage in front of the school was just gross," Schmidt said.

Hamlet receptionist Angela Ruben said the hamlet picks up garbage bags twice a week. However, workers only collect trash bags.

The loose stuff can therefore be left a long while, because the hamlet only holds a "cleaning day" once per spring.

"Every year, after thaw, we have a garbage cleanup day in town," Ruben said.

"We have children aged 12 and up, and we pay them $10 an hour."