Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Aug 29/05) - The city of Iqaluit has a crippled recycling program and toxins have been discovered just metres underneath the soil.

Paper, plastic and metal are all collected in Iqaluit, but paper and plastic is being dumped straight into the landfill. There are no plans to change that.

Iqaluit isn't alone. None of the communities in the territory have a recycling program. But the one-third effort by Iqaluit is by far the territorial leader.

"It just hasn't gotten off the ground," said Cambridge Bay Mayor Terry McCallum. "We haven't got a handle on the garbage either. Our landfill is getting full and we have to identify a new site. Hopefully recycling can be a part of the system."

In Gjoa Haven, they aren't opposed to recycling either, they just haven't started. "We want to do it, but we need to figure out a way. Do we send it out? What do we do with it?" asked SAO Raymond Kamookak.

Kamookak is concerned about the future of the dump in Gjoa Haven and thinks it may be running out of space.

"We're going to have to look at moving it or expanding it."

Clyde River has a new dump in its capital plan, but SAO Steven Aipeelie confirms that recycling isn't a part of it.

In Qikiqtarjuaq, SAO Mike Richards doesn't believe recycling is practical in his community. "They have tried it over the years, but it wasn't economical, and there's not enough material to compost," said Richards.

Jim Little can be found at the Iqaluit landfill, working on his compost pile. Last year, his group - the Bill MacKenzie Humanitarian Society - held a pilot project to collect compost from homeowners.

From that project, Little thinks up to 30 percent of Iqaluit's waste could be composted. In the first six weeks, 3,820.5 pounds of organic garbage were separated and composted, just over 20 per cent of the family's garbage.

Little has also called for the new sewer processing plant in Iqaluit to make provisions for turning human waste into compost. "Most people don't want to talk about shit," said Little about the prospect.

Brad Sokach, the Iqaluit director of engineering, said the city has plans to incorporate compost into the new plant. "We're looking at using the sludge and we are in the midst of a sludge management plan, to turn it into some sort of soil," said Sokach.

Communities that look to include recycling may have an advantage when going after federal dollars.

Federal gas tax funding - $37.5 million announced for Nunavut just last week - is earmarked for projects that decrease greenhouse gases and improve air and water quality.