Melissa Vejins
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 07/00) - Though it is a long, winding road, the end result of recycling in Yellowknife is a good one, says David Neufeld.

Neufeld has been solid waste management foreman for the City of Yellowknife for the past six years. Part of his job is ensuring that all recyclable material gets bailed and sent off for recycling.

Pop cans and paper are sent down to Edmonton where they are sorted before going to a Vancouver recycling plant.

"We recycle used motor oil. It ends up in Edmonton. We also ship out between 60 and 70 tonnes of car batteries."

Though Yellowknife does not have its own recycling plant, it does have three drop-off boxes where residents can deposit aluminum and tin cans, glass and paper.

Despite this, Neufeld finds that people are throwing out liquor bottles even though they've paid a deposit on them. Unfortunately, when it comes to glass, costs rule out any serious recycling. "Nobody's willing to do it (recycle glass) here," says Neufeld. "So it is being stockpiled."

Glass recyclers pay $10 a ton for glass that has been crushed. It then has to be trucked south.

"At what point do you balance things out?" Neufeld asks. "People are recycling diapers because the absorbent material is expensive, but that requires a lot of hot water and energy. What's more efficient?"

Neufeld prefers the concept of reusing things.

"It's important that we recycle but reusing is better because you don't burn anything off."

There is an open area for paint at the dump and Neufeld says people have used the paint to paint their cabins. If some colours are slightly off, they opt to have them tinted to match.

When a local school was torn down, Neufeld recalls one man coming to the dump and taking cedar planks away. He ended up building his deck with them.

As opposed to large urban areas where recycling trucks come by and pick materials up, it is more work to recycle in Yellowknife.

Still, Yellowknifers have made good use of the drop-off boxes. "It fluctuates. When it's cold it doesn't get used as much, but by March/April, they're full. People stockpile."

Neufeld has also noticed that people wash their tin cans in the dishwasher, which he calls an waste of hot water.

"Just rinse them out," says Neufeld, with a smile.

The drop-off boxes are located at the arena, the Co-op parking lot and off Franklin Avenue, down the road from the Igloo Inn.