HHW Last Day!

Our last day of training, but definitely not an easy one.  We tackled a preview of Ozone Depleting Substances today, moving through some concepts that we were even questioning as instructors. 

Full agreement by everyone:  the best part of the day was the giveaways.  Thanks to Steve's generosity we gave away the safety gear and the remaining prizes.  The gear put a smile on everyone's face and created a lot of excitement in the room.

As a wrap-up we talked about some of the things that the participants felt they could do in their communities now.  Here are some of the answers we received:

• Improve my storage practices, I've cleaned a lot up, but I can still improve some of the sorting and storage steps I've taken.
• Begin talking to Town Council and community members about the important things we need to address.
• Talk to my landfill operators and find out what we are doing with these hazardous wastes.
• Begin making the changes to the bylaws and to the rules at our landfill so we can begin talking to the businesses about their responsibilities to manage their own hazardous wastes.
• I will put up signs saying that dumping is illegal.  Then I can deal with the situations that happen.
• I want to get my community involved in cleaning some of the problems up.  This impacts our land, our animals and our children.
• I will deal with my waste batteries.  I know I can get them prepared for storage and shipment and then begin the work to find a receiver.
• I want to continue to raise awareness.  I think that we can get the community involved in changing the way they handle household hazardous wastes.
• I want to extend my battery collection program to include another product. 

One of our goals was to create champions that would begin to influence their communities to take the issues seriously, make their needs in this area a priority and invest effort in improvements.  From the responses we received it seems like the participants have left with a strong interest in sharing their knowledge and influencing change.  It will be great to see some of these ideas come to fruition.

So far we have received kudos for supporting this training initiative.  Initial feedback is very positive and impressions should only gain strength after participants have a chance to see different ways to accomplish the work we discussed on their tours in Edmonton.  We may not see everyone in Edmonton, but it isn't due to a lack of interest.  Some participants have other commitments that will keep them from coming, but there is strong interest in the opportunity overall.

Jim and I spent some time shopping this afternoon.  As we trekked through the -25 temperatures we chatted about our impressions and experiences.  We definitely agreed that we were all learning in that classroom.  Jim, Steve and I have a much better understanding of the implications of life without some of those basic services, utilities and infrastructure that we tend to take for granted now than we did before we got here.  Things that we imagined would be very simple are actually very complex in this environment.  We also agreed that it would be wrong to assume that a lack of forward movement was due to a lack of interest or concern.  We definitely got the impression that everyone in the room was passionate about doing the best they could.

I've included a few pictures...

Hilda, Sam and Jamessee work in the foreground, Greg, Dennis, Shawn and Don in the background.

Cold, wind and snow outside our classroom. 

Iqaluit from the best viewpoint in the city.  Nice, clear day.

HHW -- Day 3 and 4

These were our meatiest days.  We plowed through descriptions, how-to's and activities around hazardous waste management.  We discussed many situations that were challenging for local landfills.  Most participants could provide a story where hazardous materials were dumped illegally on their sites.  Many were left to manage commercial products that will be difficult and costly to deal with.  One of the most prevalent hazardous wastes for northern communities are their waste batteries.  They all report having many of these and they have no option but to store them.  They have not found an appropriate recycler and are uncertain of what steps they will need to take to ship the batteries away, but many are very keen to find these solutions.

While there is much interest in the requirements we have discussed, many communities are not currently in a position to begin taking the steps required.  One of the greatest barriers they see is the cost that will be associated with shipping these waste products out. 

It has been good to witness the types of discussions that help community representatives understand systemic issues more clearly, share solutions and their personal wisdom gained through their experiences.  If there was one indirect gain from this training, I believe it could be the birth of a loose support system where the participants begin to see that there are other people who can support them.  This, in itself, may help these communities to face the challenges that are ahead. 

Below are a few pictures of everyone hard at work...

HHW - Day 2

We are settling in although the weather surprised us a bit.  Our short walk from hotel to training site seemed like a mile-long trek because a cold wind was pushing against us the whole way.  Scarves are cool in Iqaluit and most people use them for what they are intended for -- far from decorative!

Our focus today was on regulations and an intro to hazardous wastes.  Things happen quickly in small communities...  Before lunch the students expressed interest in talking to the representative from INAC who does their inspections.  Jeff from Iqaluit knew him well and had convinced him to come in and answer our questions by the afternoon.  It was a great opportunity to get some of the specific concerns addressed that everyone had.

We heard that one of the most unexpected way that hazardous wastes were received was inside a whale carcass.  As the rib cage opened -- 3 paint cans were revealed...  Things can take you by surprise up here...

We are beginning to hone in on the things that may be possible for many communities.  They are really interested in finding solutions to the problems that plague them but there are many barriers to making things happen.

Today will be a focus on recognizing household hazardous wastes and handling hazardous wastes.  We are hoping there are lots of great takeaways from this...

We haven't needed to stray far yet.  Each night in the hotel restaurant a number of people come in to show us their creative work -- prints, carvings, sealskin mitts, etc.  It is all very beautiful, is a lot less than what you would find in the stores and we don't need to leave the warmth of the hotel. 

We had a chance to find out about whale hunting over the coffee break yesterday.  Whale hunting is so common that whale carcasses are the number one item that attracts polar bears to the dump.  Whale hunters head out on the ocean in 15 foot sea canoes.  They use harpoons to spear the whales and sometimes a rifle.  Talk about up close and personal with an animal that's bigger than you and your boat!  Hard to imagine who ever thought that might be a good idea.  Lots of courage!

Stay tuned -- I have a great picture of our blizzard-like conditions yesterday to post, just can't do it now. 

All for now!

HHW -- Day 1 Review

As we began the day we told the class that we expected to learn as much as they would, that our understanding of the conditions they lived and worked in were minimal and that we wanted to help them to see the possibilities that would be a good fit for their situation.  We were very right about the learning we would encounter.  As the participants shared the real conditions that they worked under we began to see how challenging our work would be.  Here are some examples of what we found out:

• Polar bears can arrive at the landfill site in great numbers -- participants from Whale Cove provided accounts of 7 or more at a time.  When this happened they shut down the dump until the bears left.  A man would risk his life if he stepped out of a truck near polar bears.  There is no fear of humans.  They tried to scare away the bears with rubber bullets, etc., but they often came back.  The bears ripped down their fences...
• The landfill operators also care for the sewage lagoons and water treatment.  Most towns require that water and sewage be trucked to and from homes.  Most homes have a large tank inside for each of these liquids.  During blizzards water delivery grounds to a halt and residents may be required to go without water.  These types of emergency situations distract from landfill and waste collection activities.
• Burning garbage is one of the most commonly used methods for reducing the mass of household garbage brought to the dump.  The sites that faced the most issues identified situations that prevented them from burning.  One site was too close to the airport and the smoke from the dump would keep planes from landing.  All sites struggled to burn due to changing winds and issues with the smoke moving towards town.
• Most household garbage reaches the dump through collection.  Businesses and commercial groups haul their own garbage to the dump.  Many groups talked about having special sections of the dump set up for commercial groups to segregate hazardous wastes, metals, tires, etc..  This segregation was sometimes done by dump employees or commercial groups were asked to clean up or move waste that was dumped inappropriately.
• One of the biggest factors that came up is that many struggled to meet community needs with the level of funding they had available.  When they considered investment in what they needed to properly manage their waste, they felt like they needed to reallocate money from other essential services.

That is just a tidbit from the day.  We've chewed on some of the issues they brought forward and we all agreed that we need to keep them talking and get their direct feedback on some of the concepts we bring forward.  At this time some of their situations are serious enough that it is difficult to know where or how to begin.

The Iqaluit dump tour provided good framework for some of the opportunities that smaller municipalities might have.  I've included a couple pictures below:

Jim in front of the large mound of household waste.

A great landfill sign!

This is the metal storage site -- some is compacted.

Jamesee in front of the household mound from another angle.

We Made It!

This is a short note to let everyone know that we made it -- along with our load of boxes!  There was one casualty, Jim has not seen his luggage yet...  We are still hopeful he will see it tomorrow, but that leaves him without his winter gear.  Good thing he is a tough Prairie boy!  The class will be quite close to our hotel.  Truly walking distance, but also a $6 cab ride away.  Everywhere in Iqaluit is $6 per person...

Jamesee and Liz met us at the airport and drove us into town (5 minutes), and helped us unload our boxes into the classroom.

The classroom is an oversized boardroom with nice big chairs and it's fully equipped with all the technology we will need.

Here are a few pictures...  1st picture:  Jim and Steve with our treasured boxes at 11pm last night in Toronto.  Notice Jim's jean jacket -- that's what he'll be wearing until he gets his luggage or gives in and buys some big winter parka up here.  I hope the luggage comes...  2nd picture:  The view from my hotel room window at 4pm, just about dark...

8 Hours Away!

In 8 hours we begin the long journey (18 hours in transit) to Iqaluit. 

The work began months ago and Janice Isberg has been leading the charge.  The baton has recently been passed to the delivery team.  Steve Simon, Jim Lapp and I (Colleen Starchuk) are armed with all of Janice's planning and good work as we step into a 5 day Hazardous Waste Workshop designed to support communities in the far north.  The very far north...  Iqaluit is the gathering point and 5 other northern communities from the territory of Nunavut will participate.  Our commitment to our team is to bring everyone's hard work to life and make it relevant for our participants.

As we step into this adventure our greatest hope is that the knowledge, practices and advice that we have to offer from our vantage point below the treeline can be adapted to life in the far north.  We know we will be on a steep learning curve as we consider the unique circumstances that our participants face in their own communities and we fully expect that we will need to 'think outside the box' as we reflect on what they face.

This blog is an opportunity to document our experiences and learning as well as keep our extended team in Edmonton informed as we progress through the next 5 days.

We will be leaving Edmonton's balmy +1 C later today and arriving in Iqaluit to face a temperature somewhere between -27 and -35 C.  We will see 8 hours and 38 minutes of sunlight, a pleasant surprise for me as I'm excited to see what life is like in this northern town.

All for now!
Colleen