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This story originally Appear in Canadian National Observer And is Climate Service Desk cooperate.
One week water The crisis left to the residents NunavutIqalta, the capital without drinking water, has also exposed a long-term problem for many northern communities: Safe disposal of garbage is almost impossible.
Close to 750,000 plastic After municipal staff found fuel in Iqalta’s water supply last week, water bottles have flooded the city in recent days. Although the business alliance has since joined forces to transport the empty bottles back, most of the city’s garbage never returned to the south.
On the contrary, everything from old cars to broken toys is left in the north, clogging up the Iqaluit dump and endangering human health, food and the environment. This city is not unique either. Most northern communities cannot afford to safely dispose of garbage-observers say this problem is the result of insufficient funding and colonial legacy.
“Most communities do not have facilities for proper plastic recycling,” said Susanna Fuller, vice president of operations and projects at Oceans North, an environmental organization that released a groundbreaking report investigating waste in the Canadian Arctic earlier this year. “All empty planes and empty ships [making deliveries to the North] Should be full [south]. “
This is only part of the problem. In the mid-20th century, the federal government forced Inuit and other Aboriginal people in northern Canada to settle in permanent southern-style communities. As the government invests in public infrastructure such as airports and water plants, these towns have developed rapidly, and residents have become increasingly dependent on food and materials imported from southern Canada.
With this growth comes waste: plastic packaging, auto parts, and countless other types of debris pile up. Transporting them back to recycling and safe disposal facilities in southern Canada-the most environmentally friendly option-is largely uneconomical for the company and too expensive for most municipalities.
Therefore, most communities in northern Canada send their waste to low-tech landfills, and many communities use open lagoons and sedimentation ponds to treat municipal wastewater. The Oceans North report pointed out that no community in the Canadian Arctic has an incinerator, so some communities can only rely on open burning practices that are harmful to the environment.
“Most landfills are a disaster,” Fuller said.
“Unlike most southern Canadians, we have been facing a long, huge, and expanding gap in municipal infrastructure for decades,” said Natan, chairman of Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), an organization representing Canadian Inuit. Obed wrote in the forwarding of the report. “We currently have almost no direct decision to participate in the recycling, reduction or transfer of paper, cardboard, plastic, hazardous materials and electronic waste that landfill our landfills, threatening our fresh water supply and locally harvested food, and directly affecting our air quality.”
According to a report in June, open landfills and waste incineration produce dozens of harmful chemicals, which can easily infiltrate the surrounding environment and the animals or fishes living nearby. report International Pollutant Elimination Network, a global network of environmental organizations.One July report ITK discovered that locally harvested wild foods, such as fish, berries or wild meats, can meet a quarter to half of the protein needs of the Inuit. Harvesting and hunting are also culturally important — nearly 85% of Inuit people aged 15 or older hunt or trap — and can provide a more affordable alternative to expensive imported food.
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