Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

INUVIK - Lionel Harder has a message for the people of Inuvik: stop throwing money away.

Harder, owner and operator of the recycling depot on Reliance Street, said he and his son often pick up truckloads of recyclables from the Inuvik dump. Those recyclables could be money in people's pockets if they would take the time to bring them to the depot, he said.

Lionel Harder holds up a cube of crushed aluminum cans. Harder runs the recycling depot behind Wrangling River Supplies. He said he sees a fortune in bottles and cans ending up in the dump every year. - Brodie Thomas/NNSL photo

"I get paid just like they do so if they don't bring it in, I don't get paid," he said.

Harder said this isn't just about his own paycheque. He is worried about the environment and he worries that people are throwing money in the trash. Although he doesn't have any hard data, he estimates from what he has seen and picked up at the dump that a quarter of all beverage containers that could be brought in for processing are not.

"My biggest concern is that this whole program was designed to keep things out of the landfill," he said.

Almost every beverage container that is sold in the NWT has a deposit and a handling fee that is collected by the retailer. The handling fee goes to recycling programs, while the deposit is paid back to the consumer when they return the container. The only exception is milk containers.

The GNWT reports since bringing in the bottle deposit in 2005, there has been an 82 per cent return rate territory-wide. Harder said there is still room for improvement.

Besides just bringing bottles in, Harder wants to remind people to rinse out their containers and make sure there is nothing in the containers such as straws or cigarette butts. Covers and caps should be removed.

He said he once had a battery go though his crusher.

Harder processes most of the containers right in the Inuvik depot. Aluminum and plastic containers are crushed and baled for easy shipment.

With the exception of a few specialty brands of beer, glass bottles actually get crushed and put in the landfill. While this might not seem environmentally friendly, it is the best option for Inuvik, he said. Glass is non-toxic and inert. When crushed small enough, it is basically sand.

"That stuff can go on people's property for fill," said Harder.

Also, glass is heavy so the cost of shipping bottles south to be refilled is not feasible in terms of both money and carbon emissions.

Harder said if you can't be bothered to wait for your deposit refund, you can always drop recyclables off for the food bank. It is the one charity for which Harder and his wife will accept donations of bottles.

Samuel Hearne secondary school is also starting an expanded bottle drive program this year. The money raised is going to fund sports trips.

Teacher and volleyball coach Sheena Adamson said students raised $2,600 in one day by collecting bottles from around town.

"We had some donations from businesses and towns as well as families," she said.

Adamson said they are planning to hold another drive in mid-December so she is encouraging people who might not otherwise recycle to hold on to some of their bottles and cans for the kids.