Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 18/02) - Burning garbage at the Iqaluit dump won't disappear in a puff of smoke, but it will decrease significantly once the new trash compactor is fully operational.

Iqaluit Mayor John Matthews said the city has been dealing with their solid waste by burning it for as long as he can remember. Health concerns raised by residents of the city led the waste management committee to look for alternatives.

The result is a $300,000 compactor that arrived in Iqaluit via the sea-lift this fall. It looks like a big tractor with spiked wheels. Trash is compressed when the compactor drives over it. The garbage is then covered with sand.

"There won't be any garbage left uncovered when we leave at night," said landfill site manager Darcey Reist.

With the compactor came a loader valued at $150,000, and a temporary Sprung structure to house the equipment, which will cost an additional $100,000.

Although compacting is already taking place, Matthews said it will take another two to three weeks for the set up to be completely installed. Workers are still going through training and making adjustments to the Sprung structure.

"It would have been finished by now if it weren't for the wind," said engineering director Matthew Hough.

The structure will also shelter the city's bailer used in the recycling program.

Along with a more environmentally sound solid waste disposal system, efforts to increase recycling will also help reduce the amount of garbage that ends up at the dump. Matthews said they hope the initiatives will allow the city to get another seven years out of the present landfill site.

To make this happen, he said recycling must increase and become a public responsibility.

"People are starting to buy into the program. More and more are subscribing to the three R's," said Matthews.

He is referring to the three R's in the recycling slogan: Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Consultants have completed the first draft of a waste audit that will show how well Iqalungmiut are doing with waste management.

"The report will be estimating the amount of garbage produced by the residents," said Hough.

From these estimates, officials will gage the lifespan of the present landfill site.

They will take compacting and recycling efforts into consideration when calculating the figures.

Training for employees on the compactor began last Sunday. They will be taught how to spread and flatten the material out.

Iqaluit's solid waste management committee said these first steps are milestones for the city.

"Over a period of time, we resolved that it was just too costly and there was just too much risk involved in burning," said Stu Kennedy, chair of the committee.

The committee hopes the new trash compactor will lead to a full-fledged promise from the city to stop burning completely.

For now, wood will be the main material burned.