Nunavik wants feedback on what to do with municipal waste

Nunavik’s 14 communities generate almost 12,000 tonnes of waste every year — and almost all that waste goes directly to landfills. A new Kativik Regional Government plan hopes to cut back on that. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

A Kativik Regional Government commission wants to hear from Nunavimmiut on how to cut back on waste going to Nunavik’s landfills.

The commission, which is holding a public consultation in Kuujjuaq Sept. 19, wants to hear feedback on the Nunavik Residual Materials Management Draft Plan, a document that was approved by the KRG’s executive committee earlier this year.

Residual waste is the waste that remains after recycling, composting, reduction and reuse.

But a recent data shows that Nunavik’s 14 communities generate almost 12,000 tonnes of waste every year — and almost all that waste is deposited in landfills, where it is burned, buried or stored.

Although some communities have started their own recycling projects in recent years, no such program exists region-wide.

The draft plan presents some measures on how to better manage the region’s waste, suggesting that selective collection of different materials could help Nunavik communities extend the service and life of its landfills.

The KRG’s draft plan proposes two models for the collection of recyclable material such as glass, plastics, metals and fibrous waste — a voluntary collection, where containers would be set up at different places in the community, in which residents would be encouraged to deposit their pre-sorted items, or a second option that would involve a door-to-door collection of recyclable materials.

Either of those collection models would be implemented as pilot projects in communities that choose to adopt them, the draft plan spells out — a project estimated to cost $1.4 million to set-up and operate over five years.

The draft plan also suggests that an organic waste management plan should be set up in at least one community over the next five years.

The first proposal would permit the composting of only plant material and would be tied to ongoing greenhouse projects, such as in Kuujjuaq or Salluit. There is no cost attached to this option as it would be managed by community members on a volunteer basis.

A second measure would involve a modular rotating composter. That’s an industrial size machine that could manage about a third of organic waste at local landfills, including animal carcasses and paperboard. This pilot project would come in at a $900,000 cost over five years.

The draft plan also proposes options for the disposal of construction materials, bulky appliances, vehicles and hazardous household waste.

Once the KRG adopts a plan, an employee will be hired to implement the plan. This process could cost $1 million to coordinate over the next five years.

The consultation will be held Sept. 19 at Kuujjuaq’s Katittavik town hall at 7 p.m.

A consultation planned for Inukjuaq earlier this week was postponed; a new date for the meeting has yet to be set.

You can see a draft version of the residual materials management plan here.