Western Canada Water: News Blog Page

A new study says Nunavut's community landfills are a hazard to human health and the environment - if this information is viewed in isolation, it may be construed to be true.  However, there are many factors at play.  The study was completed for the Nunavut government this summer, and it was recently tabled in the Nunavut legislature. The report studied 14 landfills in Nunavut and generally concluded that not a single facility in the meets modern standards for waste management - therein lies the issue - what are these so called modern standards, and have they be interpreted in what I would call the fundamental framework for cold regions engineering.  This framework suggests the application of appropriate technology in a northern context and implemented in an incremental fashion.

The news report on the study focusses on the community of Pangnirtung, and notes there is nowhere to build a new landfill because of the surrounding terrain.  The news report states that Pangnirtung routinely sets the dump on fire to make room - burning has been an appropriate technology for the north in the past - whether or not it is still an appropriate technology is a question to be asked and answered.   It is suggested that  $1.5 million of federal gas tax money could go an incinerator which could be up and running in a year, but is this an appropriate technology for Pangnirtung?

Follow up:

The study recommends three options for waste management: 1. construction of a modern, lined landfill and shipping hazardous waste south;  2. burning waste using an incinerator or gasification; 3. sorting garbage - composting organics, sending recyclables and hazardous waste south and burying the rest.  Nunavut officials say tackling the problem is a government priority and a long-term plan is to overhaul the sites, but the estimated cost  is in the range of $10 and $13 million per community.

The news report article does not mention operation and maintenance demands of solid waste management facilities - it is reasonable to say that if operation and maintenance resources (compensation, training, and recognition) are not appropriately applied to solid waste management facilities then no amount of cash will produce a  satisfactory facility.