Recycling society to launch program, education campaign
Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services
Inuvik (Nov 03/00) - Inuvik's newly formed Recycling Society wants to have a recycling program operating by next summer.
Jennifer Walker-Larsen, society president, is making plans for the recycling program and an education campaign that emphasizes reduce, reuse and recycle.
Walker-Larsen said the society expects to hire a co-ordinator early next year.
The co-ordinator will perform "a waste audit, which is a survey to figure out the kind of stuff that is currently going into the landfill," she said.
"We can target different types and determine which is the most significant environmentally, and then design our program around for the most positive benefits."
Walker-Larsen said the education program will start around the same time as the waste audit.
"The awareness program will be focus on the schools, but also, we'll be trying to educate general residents in town," she said.
The society wants to establish a central depot, possibly behind the Northern Store, where people could drop off items for recycling.
"We'll probably start small in the first year, with a limited number of products we collect," she said.
"We've got advice from other groups, and they say that if you start too big, it's really difficult."
Selling to Raven
The Inuvik Recycling Society plans to sell its products to Raven Recycling Inc., a non-profit recycling society in Whitehorse.
"We can send them mixed loads of whatever. They can take it from there, so it should work out really well," Walker-Larsen said.
"Eventually we hope to link with other communities in the area, so we could maybe serve as a central depot for communities like Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Sachs, places like that," she said.
"Everything that comes into Inuvik comes by truck or barge. There's very little leaving, so we have empty trucks and empty boats. We should be able to get reduced rates to get those recycled materials out."
Walker-Larsen said the society is raising funds right now.
It has received money from the Community Animation Program, Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, in-kind support from the Aurora Research Institute.
"People are generally very supportive of this, so we're optimistic. We don't think getting money will be a big problem."
