Iqaluit (Jul 03/06) - Which government department should residents call when they want to junk their old, broken down vehicles?

That was the pointed question Iqaluit deputy mayor Glenn Williams asked Earle Baddaloo, territorial director of environmental protection, as jousting between the city and the government continued at a meeting on June 19.

Where will unwanted automobiles go to die when Iqaluit city council no longer accepts scrap vehicles at the landfill site as of July 1? The territorial government is trying to come up with alternatives.

A bylaw amendment banning scrap vehicles from the city-managed landfill takes effect July 1. The measure has raised concerns that derelict vehicles will become a problem around the city, or they will be eyesores left to rust in people's yards.

Baddaloo, a delegate at last week's public works committee meeting, wanted to inform councillors of three scrap vehicle options that the Department of Environment has forwarded to cabinet for review. Those options, which would be applicable across Nunavut, involve stripping, flattening and shipping the vehicles. Either the government, private business or a combination of those would carry out those actions.

Unfortunately, the costs of shipping vehicles - ranging from $430 to $1,500 - often outweigh the value of scrap vehicles, Baddaloo noted.

An alternative would be to contract a private, Labrador-based barge company that pays communities $500 for the rights to haul away discarded automobiles.

Coun. Claude Martel wanted to explore that avenue.

"I think that's a good idea. It won't cost us nothing. Just pick it up and take it away," Martel said.

Baddaloo also mentioned the possibility of charging motorists a one-time vehicle recycling fee as high as $1,500, or a lower annual fee. The city already tried to impose such a fee last year, but the government stepped in and said it wasn't the municipality's mandate to charge a levy, Williams reminded Baddaloo. He insisted that people who import vehicles to Iqaluit must be responsible for them when they are ready to be trashed.

The deputy mayor also said he has concerns over the city's costs and personnel commitments in any future partnership with the government on scrap vehicle management.

Baddaloo suggested the city should have an alternative site where discarded automobiles could be stockpiled until a contractor can remove them.

He said he expects a decision from cabinet soon on scrap vehicle options.