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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Coffee cups, take-out food containers and general garbage lines the streets of Yellowknife's cityscape for all to see, but the problem is getting better, according to city officials.

Concerned resident Alica Dombaj points to the garbage problem leaving a dirty mark on Yellowknife. City officials are working to fix the problem. - Sara Wilson/NNSL photo

While clean-up efforts in the spring prove to be effective in removing the consumer waste, efforts need to continue to bring the city centre back to its original beauty.

Many culprits could be to blame, a lack of pride in the city's appearance, inconvenient garbage bins, or the persistence of the city's raven population occupying the downtown core.

However, Mayor Gord Van Tighem defends the clean-ups efforts saying 'it has come a long way.'

"We've put in a huge number of garbage cans over the last several years," Van Tighem said.

"We've had an anti-litter campaign that operates when the snow first melts and way into July which is a volunteer-run initiative. We have the street adoption program, what you're seeing now is very little compared to what it was six years ago."

The cost to taxpayers per square block of litter collection in the summer months is $3,500 over 20 blocks, and $1,500 in the winter winters. The program employees city staff to monitor waste disposal bins throughout Yellowknife.

"It's not inexpensive. We have a dedicated crew that does a sweep through all of the litter bins," Van Tighem said.

"We added almost 100 litter containers over the last four or five years. I had a couple incidents that I've dealt with in the last couple of weeks, garbage cans and ash trays that were full, they were dealt with quite quickly, there are people on it."

According to Van Tighem, the responsibility lies with residents and businesses.

"It works both ways, there's pressure on the businesses to clean up in front of their place, especially those that provide take-out food," Van Tighem said. "In the downtown core there's a group that does every Wednesday night plus there's people that patrol the waste bins throughout the week and on the weekends. It is a massive effort."

Coun. Paul Falvo has been active in the clean-up programs for several years, and believes a levy should be placed on take-out containers, to help fund further clean-up efforts.

"You get a restaurant that goes to the effort of providing reusable cups and they don't get any reward for that. They have to clean it up themselves. In any coffee shop in Yellowknife, the default is a disposable cup, it's assumed that you want a disposable cup and you have to request to get a ceramic one. It should be the opposite."

As far as solving the problem, Falvo believes it comes down to ownership.

"If it's on Kam Lake Road people are probably throwing it out their windows, that would be my guess, so putting garbage cans isn't going to do it," he said.

David McCann a former city councillor with the city, is another veteran of the cause, and believes education is the key to putting a stop to the littering.

"I don't think there's a high priority put on littering as a problem, and granted, you can't be following every car to see if a coffee cup comes out it," McCann said.

McCann said the Get Yk Clean Committee, started in 2004, creates goals for ways of reducing waste in the community.

"One of the main conclusions of the Get Yk Clean Report, the main recommendations is we have to educate people."

Signs posted throughout the city to remind residents to put the coffee cup in the garbage as well as working with businesses are some of McCann's solutions.

"I think as a city, they should be approaching the owners and saying 'Listen, your branded stuff is all over town, and we'd like to work with you.' After that, the city could put up warning signs, that say 'You drop the cup you owe us $100 bucks'."

Not all businesses are taking a back seat to the problem, owners of Javaroma have taken a progressive step in picking up the trash, with a volunteer-based program throughout most parts of the year.

"For the health and environment and a better looking city, better looking businesses," Fadil Memedi, co-owner of the Javaroma said.

"From the beginning to the end, it's all up to us. Cleaning, it's important for all sorts of things. We do participate every year from April to September and we go out once a week and clean it up."

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