Apex residents washing clothes in their own pee?

Your one-sided coverage of the public meeting in Apex (Nunatsiaq News, March 1) is prompting this letter. I feel your coverage was not as objective as what I’ve come to expect from Nunatsiaq News.

I thought the meeting was well-attended, not by the residents of Apex, but by politicians and city management. And if you are going to print the fact there was an objection to the city’s plans, I think you should at least publish the reason for that objection.

I find it amusing that we are about to spend over $300,000 of taxpayer money so that 11 families will be able to wash their clothes in their own pee.

Of all the communities to choose for this experiment, I think Apex should be the last possible choice. According to government studies, well over 15 million cubic metres of water flow into the ocean from that little creek in Apex every year.

Our city engineer tells me that everyone in Iqaluit uses about half a cubic metre of water a day. That’s 182.5 cubic metres per yer per person.

If that’s true, the stream in Apex could support a population of 82,000 and the water is delivered practically to their doorsteps. Wouldn’t it make more sense to find ways to use that wonderful God-given resource rather than spending the taxpayers’ money proving that if we spend enough money we can wash our clothes in our own urine?

A lot of Nunavummiut believe any attempt at recycling is a step in the right direction, but I think we can do much better than we are doing now. We’re going to recycle water in a community with great natural abundance. We are recycling tin cans when the very best return we can get is $5 a ton in Montreal. That’s about two cents for a full “blue bag.”

Of all the potential recyclable materials we discard in Iqaluit, we choose the ones that make the least sense. You would think after the fiasco at our sewage treatment plant, the city managers would be determined to get it right the next time.

But I guess old habits are hard to break.
Jim Little
Iqaluit