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.