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RANKIN INLET - The firm support Rankin Inlet has given the recycling program paid off in a big way this past month when the program was extended for another year.

The Government of Nunavut (GN) committed to the recycling program from April 1, 2009, until March 31, 2010, and will provide about $140,000 in funding to keep it viable for the community.

Fulltime employee Armand Autut, right, and parttime worker Charlie Kasaluak are all smiles in Rankin Inlet after the Nunavut government extended the recycling program for another year this past month. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

Rankin senior administrative officer Paul Waye said the recycling program has been strongly supported in the community since its inception in 2007. He said the original project was only scheduled for three months, but the response was so overwhelming the GN continued to extend the program for three or sixmonth periods.

"We were pleased to see the GN recognize how well the program is working and make the decision to extend it for a full year," said Waye.

"We've collected a fair amount of recyclable containers every month since the program started, and we even have people from other communities who take advantage of it from time to time.

"A number of people from Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet hold onto their containers now and, when they're coming to Rankin, throw bags of pop cans, or whatever, in their qamutiik and cash them in at our depot when they arrive.

"We also had a lady from Arviat call to find out how she could get her pop cans here."

The program has resulted in a full-time position being created in the hamlet, as well as another part-time position.

The hamlet originally dedicated one 16-hour position to the program, but the response was too great for a part-time worker to deal with the amount of material being collected.

Residents have turned in a monthly average of about 70,000 recyclable items in Rankin since the program began, consisting of liquor bottles (25 cents), beer cans (10 cents), and pop and juice containers (five cents).

Waye said the next step is to finalize arrangements to get most of the items out of the community.

He said glass items will actually be used to improve local roads.

"We're planning on running glass items through a crusher to make sand for the roads.

"Pit sand slides off a road really easily because all of its edges have been worn off, but glass sand has jagged edges that stick into the ice on the roads," Wayne explained.

"We're still trying to figure out what to do with the plastic items, but there's not a huge amount of that.

"We're compacting aluminum cans with a modified barrel crusher, and eventually, it will all find its way out of our community."