The Northwest Territories Takes on Recycling

On November 1, 2005 the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) began Canada’s northern-most beverage container recycling program.

In the first month of operation, over 1.67 million beverage containers were collected. The program has had challenges, including NWT’s large landmass (1.3 million sq km) and low population (43,000). There is one city of 21,000 ( Yellowknife), and 32 smaller communities. Many of these are only accessible by barge in the summer or ice road in the winter.

The program includes all ready-to-serve beverage containers except milk. Consumers pay a deposit and handling fee on each container. These are remitted by distributors to the GNWT’s Environment Fund.

Nineteen depots were set up in communities representing more than 90% of the territories’ population. Depot operators collect, sort, and store containers until they can be shipped to a processing centre. Regional processing centres have been established in Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik. With the NWT’s transportation challenges, many depots have to store containers for months until a barge arrives or an ice road opens.

The three processing centres have been supplied with the following recycling equipment:

• Harmony high density vertical balers for plastic bottles, cardboard and aseptic containers
• Densifiers for aluminum cans.
• Glass breakers for non-refillable glass bottles.

Refillable beer bottles are shipped to Brewers’ Distributors of Alberta. Aluminum cans and plastic bottles are sent to markets in southern Canada. Local markets for other materials are being developed. For example, non-refillable glass is crushed and used locally as a substitute for sand.

Possible future program expansions include milk containers, cardboard, plastics, tires, and electronic wastes.

[Source: March 2006 WasteWatch]

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