Yellowknife (June 30/03) - The dump on a sunny afternoon is the place to be for many Yellowknife locals.

With all the hoopla over city plans to restrict salvaging at the landfill, News/North spent a Sunday afternoon at the dump to find how it might affect people who go there and what they find.

Mervin Penney finds parts he uses to rebuild computers. - Cheryl Robinson/NNSL photo Greg Kehoe, director of the city's public works department, said the dump has been open since around 1974. A bailing facility was added in 1993 to crush garbage into small cubes that take up less space in the landfill. "There has been more garbage going into the landfill this year than any other year," said Kehoe. The city proposes to restrict access to the current general dumping site and create a separate salvaging area for reusables. "Public safety in that area is our number one concern," said Kehoe. The city's strategic waste management plan also recommends signs be placed in the dump to direct people where to put their garbage or reusable materials. The landfill currently has salvaging areas for paint cans, wood and appliances.

Gary Dolphin has been coming to the landfill to find recyclables for over 25 years.

"You name it, I've found it here," he said.

Like many others, Dolphin thinks a visit to the dump on a Sunday afternoon is not only a great way to recycle, but a good way to meet people.

"I met this one lady last week that found $300 in an old suit jacket," said Dolphin.

A separate salvaging area is a good idea, Dolphin thinks, but he fears many materials will be lost if the salvagers are restricted.

"Coming in here like this, that's how you get the good stuff," he said.

"What a waste."

A man named Walter wouldn't give his last name but was willing to share his views on what people discard.

"It's almost criminal, what's being thrown out here, but we're not unique. This kind of stuff gets thrown out in every city in the world. What a waste," he said.

Ryan Silke visits the dump in the hope of finding "a little bit of everything."

He is on the Heritage Committee and uses a lot of his spare time to comb the landfill for reusables and Yellowknife artifacts.

"I think it's narrow-minded to close off this area to salvaging and create a different one. Most of the stuff I find here won't end up over there," he said.

Finding the unfindable

After recently moving to Yellowknife from Newfoundland, Mervin Penney heard about open access to the dump soon after he arrived.

"It's probably the best recycling in the world out here," he said.

"I found something yesterday that I thought was impossible to find."

Penney said he bought a Pay Day board game on E-Bay for $50 before he left Newfoundland, because he loved the game so much and couldn't find it anywhere else. Saturday he was amazed to find the same game sitting in a pile of garbage at the dump.

He's no scavenger

Dan Rumand disagrees with the term "scavengers" and thinks "recyclers" is a better way to describe the people who search the dump.

"There's nothing wrong with people finding stuff out here, what's wrong is people who are throwing it out," said Rumand.

"These people out here have done so much for the environment."

Rumand said he thinks Yellowknifers need to do a better job of separating their materials.

"The people with imaginations are the people you'll find out here. Many usable things are built from findings in this place," Rumand said.

From doctors to politicians, Rumand agrees the landfill is a great place to meet a range of people.

"It's definitely a social thing," he said.