Iqaluit residents reminded to separate electronics from household waste
Reminder follows a July 2 landfill fire
Smoke billows from the City of Iqaluit’s dump Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
One week after a landfill fire, the City of Iqaluit is reminding residents and businesses to keep batteries and electronic devices out of regular garbage.
In a public service announcement on Friday, the city said items such as household batteries, phones, computers, televisions, tablets, e-cigarettes and vapes can pose a fire risk if mixed with regular waste and should be separated before disposal.
“Iqaluit has had enough landfill excitement over the years, and no one is looking for any
additional sequels,” public works clerk Briana Shaimaiyuk-Baines wrote in the announcement.
Residents and businesses are asked to tell the landfill shack attendant when they are dropping off batteries or electronics so the items can be handled safely, the release states.
The reminder follows a July 2 landfill fire that prompted the temporary closure of the road to the Iqaluit port while firefighters contained the blaze.
The fire, which began late that afternoon, was extinguished just after 11 p.m.
Crews remained at the site the following day to monitor conditions. The city has not released the cause of the fire.
City spokesperson Geoff Byrne was unavailable for comment.
Iqaluit has experienced several major landfill fires in recent years, including a 10-hour blaze in 2022 and a fire in 2014 that burned for six months.
Nunatsiaq please to just the bare minimum amount of research. The local Fire Department and the City cannot state the cause of a fire in most cases they can only speculate. The Fire Marshal after review and investigation would publicly state the cause if it is determined. I would assume this will be “undetermined” as it would be very hard to determine a cause in a dump fire with 100% certainty.