Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Fort Resolution (Aug 15/05) - The GNWT is still looking for people to operate depots for its beverage container recycling program, even though the deadline has been extended seven months to Nov. 1.

The GNWT wants depots in all 33 communities in the NWT, but is currently negotiating licences with groups in only six locations. The original deadline was April 1.

However, a Fort Resolution man says he applied to operate a depot in the spring or earlier, but has not heard back from government.

"I applied for it, but they never gave me an answer yet," says Gabriel Lafferty.

The 58-year-old says he's eager to run a depot in Fort Resolution. "I'd do it right now."

Emery Paquin, the director of environmental protection with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, says there is no record of Lafferty having applied.

"So what we are going to do is we are going to follow up with him," Paquin says.

Lafferty believes he can make a good living operating a depot in Fort Resolution, a community of 500-600 people.

In fact, he has been collecting liquor and beer bottles at the community dump and selling them at a depot in Hay River.

"I make good money," he says.

Lafferty says he would also like to get some government assistance, perhaps $5,000, to build a shelter for the depot.

"I don't need a fancy building," he said.

Paquin said there has not been a lot of interest in operating depots in the smaller communities.

"The objective is to have a depot in every territorial community," he says, adding it is not practical to think that would happen by Nov. 1.

The six communities which will likely have depots or combined depots/processing centres when the program begins would cover 74 per cent of the NWT population.

There will be four depots/processing centres - in Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Hay River and Inuvik.

"They will take containers from depots and move them down south for recycling," Paquin explains.

He said there is also interest in depots for Fort Smith and Rae.

Applied everywhere

The deposit and handling fee charge would be applied in all communities, even though people living in communities without depots will have to find there own way to get their refund back.

While Mayor Edward MacCauley of the Hamlet of Tulita supports the recycling program, he thinks the GNWT should consider not including the deposit and handling fee on containers sold in communities where there is no easy access to a depot.

"I think it is unfair," MacCauley says.

The mayor says the Tulita council has already discussed the possibility of establishing a depot in the community of about 500. "We're looking into it."

MacCauley thinks the government should help such depots be established. "If we do something, we should get funding from the government."

The recycling program has been in the works since the passing of the Waste Reduction and Recovery Act in late 2003.