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Two communities remain on the NWT government’s to-do list as part of a years-long project to shift hazardous materials out of local dumps.
When the work began in 2022, 410 tonnes of hazardous waste was set to be extracted from Beaufort Delta and Sahtu communities alone.
In all, the GNWT says about 1,000 tonnes has now been removed from 20 communities.
Nahanni Butte, Jean Marie River, Aklavik, Inuvik, Délı̨nę, Łútsël K’é and Fort Resolution were the last communities on the list.
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Work has now finished in the first five of those places, the GNWT stated on Thursday. Hazmat in Łútsël K’é is in the process of being removed, and Fort Resolution will be the last stop in August.
“In the past, it was common to leave hazardous waste, scrap metal, and other complicated waste types at community solid waste sites,” the territory stated.
“This, combined with the logistical and transportation challenges of moving hazardous waste to proper designated sites in the south, led to large stockpiles of waste in these communities.”
While some communities tried to find their own funding to deal with this, the NWT’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs ultimately acquired federal funding worth about $5.75 million to help. Communities were responsible for finding another $2 million between them, as well as providing local workers and equipment.
Communities minister Vince McKay hailed the program as a success on Thursday, saying it demonstrated “the effectiveness of regional cooperation.”
McKay said the territory’s next step will be to build on the work by focusing on “clearing scrap metal from community solid waste sites throughout the NWT.”
