YELLOWKNIFE - Barefoot Folk on the Rocks goers might want to sandal-up for next year's festival thanks to 30-tonnes of crushed glass dropped at the site's parking lot.

Jason Unrau/NNSL photo About 30-tonnes of "crushed glass" has been dropped off at the Folk on the Rocks site to level off the RV park that Industry, Tourism and Investment plans to build there. -

According to Philip Lee, North Slave regional superintendent of Industry, Tourism, and Investment, where the crushed glass was dumped is now a construction site, adding the glass is to be used in an "environmental test" when leveling the ground in preparation for the RV park ITI plans to build there.

Folk on the Rocks Society president Glen Abernethy, who has offered cautious support of the $500,000 project to put 36 full-service RV hookups in what's used as a parking lot for the annual music festival, was disappointed in the pile of glass left buried in the snow at the festival entrance. He said the glass appears dangerous.

"I'm not against the concept of the RV park, I think it's a good thing, but I'm not sure it's the right location," he said after learning of the glass pile. "If they've got glass all over there people won't be able to park and can't walk in there."

The crushed glass was given to ITI by NWT Parks, which has a deal with the Yellowknife Bottle Depot to take away its growing supply of crushed glass, made from bottles the depot is unable to recycle.

"That (glass) will be deployed in the spring as we're anticipating being able to move ahead with that, in which case it's a construction site," said Lee. "Quite likely (construction) will run through the festival but there have been arrangements made with the festival."

Lee said the area where the glass has been sitting for several weeks would not affect the festival duration of the anticipated 12-month construction.

The area is under the jurisdiction of the territorial Department of Transportation.

Adam Pich, bottle recycling manager, said he crushes about 20 tonnes of glass a week and that the material makes perfect fill because of its drainage properties and durability.

"It's sand, after all," he said of the glass.