Share your views – we are interested in what you think. Take a moment to participate in this outreach project and exchange the experiences of northern youth. We may live a thousand kilometres apart, but your North and my North are part of the same unified circumpolar world, a common home we should call: our North.

Connecting northern youth

Youth Steering Committee

  

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Your voice »

  » Your issues

Garbage in the North

What's the problem?

In many northern Canadian communities there is a common problem of garbage on the streets, roads, ditches, water streams and beaches. Some youth in these communities are throwing their garbage thoughtlessly on the ground. Waste sites in newly formed Inuit communities are filling up and reaching full capacity. Domestic recycling is non-existent in most remote Arctic communities.

What can be done?

So? What are some Canadian northerners doing about it?

• Western Arctic
  In the western Canadian Arctic, the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory governments have subsidies and municipal funding for domestic recycling.
  
  There is more awareness about recycling and environmentalism because schools, youth centres and businesses are making efforts towards having domestic recycling in public places.
  
  For example, in Tuktoyaktuk, the youth centre runs a local domestic recycling depot in a renovated Hudson Bay Company building. They receive funding through their municipality to have cash exchange refunds of plastics, metal cans and paper products.
  
  The western Arctic has access to ice roads, so trucks filled with bailed recyclables from Inuvik, NWT can be shipped down to Alberta's processing plants.

• Eastern Arctic - Nunavik
  Domestic recycling is virtually non-existent. The Province of Quebec does not have any funding to support domestic recycling programs for its 14 remote Arctic communities.
  
  There is only the municipal funding from the Kativik Regional Government in which all fourteen Inuit communities in northern Quebec, ship their used batteries, hazardous materials (oils, lubricants, antifreeze, etc) and old tires by marine transport to Montreal, QC.
  
  There is a cash return metal can machine in each of the local cooperative stores in each community but, no resource for other household recyclable products.
  
  There are no roads accessible to this part of Quebec. Only transportation for potential recyclable materials is by airplane or ship.

Youth Resources

How can you make a difference?

• In your school

  Does the school office and classrooms re-use their paper?

  YES

  • GREAT! What kind of things can done to re-use paper in your school?
  • Papier mache
  • Art projects
  • Notepads
  • Ask your science teacher about composting
  • Can a pilot program happen in your school? In local businesses?
  • Compost food products, in order to decompose naturally and cleanly food stuffs. Avoid chicken, bones, cheese, milk, meat and oils

  NO

  Paper creation uses much energy and finding creative ways to reduce the use of paper is always a benefit for the environment.

  • Try to use the blank sides of the used paper.
  • Ask your teacher and principal to collect all paper
  • Ask them to cut them up and use as office notepads
  • Shred the used paper and use for future packaging insulation
  • Create fun recyclable art projects
    
    
• In your home
  • You like to draw or paint? Use the back of used paper for school or home as your canvas
  • Avoid paper plates and plastic cutlery.
  • Choose recycled paper products if accessible.
  • Promote the local stores to order recyclable products, and environmentally friendly products when they do their annual sealift orders.
    
    
• In your community
  • Stop littering. Spread the word around that garbage on the earth is harmful to the earth. Teach others to put their garbage in one place: the garbage dump.
  • Encourage youth and kids to stop littering. Think about how one person can make a difference when choosing to put litter in the trash can.
  • Ask your local store about their policy on bags. Plastic, paper or Cloth reusable bag?
  • Plastic bags could be used for storage and use of frozen foods
  • Great garbage bags instead of the "ready-made" ones bought at the store
  • Use Plastic bags for packaging insulation
  • Slit the sides, flatten them for children who pain or make a dirty mess on the floor.
  • Minimize paper towels, plates and napkins.

You have influence!

Remember the four R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Respond! If you see nothing happening in your community about domestic recycling, than ask: Youth centre supervisor, Mayor, Councilor or band council member, Principal of the local school or Local business owners

ASK THEM: Why don't we have domestic recycling?

• Write petitions to your local government about the need for domestic recycling resources

• When big name politicians come into your town, ask them about this issue

• Ask your community's mayor and local leaders about what they are doing about domestic recycling and garbage disposal.

The content on this Web site does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of IISD, the Arctic Council or funders of the Web site.       © IISD, 2008