Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (June 10/02) - The city's paper recycling program is going nowhere.

Young offenders used to collect paper for recycling as part of a territorial government program. The Department of Public Works shredded and bailed the paper which was sent south by First Air for free.

Not any more. When costs quadrupled after division, the youth program backed out. In response, the city hired Iqaluit resident Bryan Hellwig to collect paper from offices.

Then the government's shredder and bailer broke last October. Soon after, Hellwig began scouting the city for crates that could handle the paper.

The city pays him $2,000 a month for the service. The problem is, Hellwig is running out of crates.

Iqaluit will overflow with crates when the sealift arrives this fall, but in the meantime, they remain in short supply.

To complicate things, the city and territorial government can't seem to agree on who is responsible for the program.

The city's recycling co-ordinator, Jonathan Wright, said last week the city is only supposed to provide collection vehicles.

Recently, the city sent a letter to the Department of Public Works, asking for help ensuring the program continues. According to the department there is no written agreement.

Public Works spokesperson John Thomas said recycling is the city's responsibility.

But a solution is on the horizon. Thomas said the shredder and bailer will soon be fixed -- although the machine can only handle small volumes of paper. It was large volume that broke in the first place.

The smaller machine could be used for confidential documents that require shredding.

He said the government hopes to buy a large-scale compactor for the rest.

"The bottom line is we are thinking about alleviating the problem," Thomas said.