Solid WASTE

Solid waste is a significant pressure on the environment. For each material that is thrown away in a landfill or elsewhere on the environment, a replacement is produced using fresh raw materials, more energy is used, air pollution from incineration is increased, water pollution and GHGs emissions is elevated, and the need for more waste disposal sites is increased. Improper solid waste disposal also attracts wildlife, and often leads to increased wildlife mortality.

Waste reduction and reusing or recycling materials reduce all negative impacts associated with solid waste on the environment.

There is little information on the amount of solid waste produced in the NWT(1). Information on some types of solid waste is now collected as part of new programs that aim at redirecting that waste to recycling processes. The indicator included in the focal point tracks one type of solid waste: beverage containers. Other indicators will be developed in future reports.

9.1 Trends in percent of beverage containers that are recycled

This indicator tracks the number of beverage containers that are sold in the NWT and the percent recycled.

The Beverage Container Program (BCP) was implemented in November 2005, and includes ready-to-serve beverage containers made of glass, plastics, aluminum, metals, waxed cardboard,and mixed materials that can be recycled or reused. This includesjuice, pop, bottled water, "new age" drinks, beer, wine, liquor and other alcoholic beverages. Milk and milk substitutes are not included in the BCP.

Plastic (HDPE) milk jugs are currently recycled by the City of Yellowknife on a voluntary basis, but the percentage of containers recycled is not tracked, so the indicator does not include this information.

Other programs contributed to beverage container recycling in the NWT prior to 2005. For example, the Liquor Commission ran a recycling program for beer containers in some communities. Municipal governments such as the City of Yellowknife recycled aluminum cans. In other communities, such as Inuvik and Norman Wells, non-profit groups took upon themselves to recycle aluminum cans. Businesses were set up to bale aluminum cans and sell them to southern recyclers. These programs were supplanted by the BCP in 2005. There was no reporting mechanism on the amounts recycled through these programs, so the indicator does not include this information.

NWT Focus

Each recycled item helps reduce waste and improve the state of the environment today and for future generations.

The Waste Reduction and Recovery Act (2003) made it possible for the Government of the Northwest Territories to set up programs to reduce waste and to recover, reuse or recycle various materials in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The Beverage Container Program was the first program implemented under the Act.

Every year, around 30 million ready-to-serve beverage containers are sold in the NWT. Prior to the implementation of the Beverage Container Program in 2005, with the exception of some alcoholic beverage containers, most of the containers ended up in landfills or as litter across the land. Under the Beverage Container Program, a refundable deposit and a non-refundable handling fee is added to the price of each ready-to-serve beverage container distributed or sold in the NWT. The consumer can get the refundable deposit back by taking the empty beverage container to the nearest depot. The depot sorts the beverage containers and ships them to a designated regional processing centre. The processing centre processes the beverage containers and sells them to recycling markets.

Current view: status and trend

During the first six months of the program (2005/06), 62% of beverage containers sold were recycled. During 2006/2007, 86% of containers sold were recycled in for 2007/2008, 81% were recycled..

From the start of the program until March 31, 2008, almost 71 million containers were sold in the NWT, of which almost 57 million (about 80%) have been reused or recycled.

Looking forward

The GNWT plans to implement other waste reduction and recycling initiatives and programs in the near future.

Looking around

An approximate return rate of 80% in the NWT is comparable to other deposit-refund programs for beverage containers across Canada.

Find out more

• For more information on the NWT’s Beverage Container Program, visit our website at: http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/eps/beverage.htm
• For financial statements and annual reports for the fiscal years 2005/06 and 2006/07 for the Program, please visit our website at: http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/eps/beverage.htm
• For information on other beverage container programs across Canada, visit the following websites:
  • Yukon: http://www.ravenrecycling.org/
  • British Columbia: http://www.encorp.ca
  • Alberta: http://www.abcrc.com
  • Saskatchewan: http://www.sarcsarcan.ca
  • Manitoba: http://www.mpsc.com/
  • Ontario: http://www.wdo.ca/
  • Quebec: http://www.recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca
  • Newfoundland: http://www.mmsb.nf.ca/
  • New Brunswick: http://www.encorpatlanticinc.com
  • Nova Scotia: http://www.rrfb.com
  • Prince Edward Island: http://www.iwmc.pe.ca/

Other focal points

• Related focal points.

1. Environmental Protection, 1998, Pressures on the Arctic ecosystem from human activities, GNWT - ENR - Environmental Protection webpage: http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/library/pdf/eps/envscn.pdf, http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/library/pdf/eps/envscn.pdf