City councillors are looking at scavenging as a way to cut down on landfill costs as North Battleford's waste management facility.
But it should be stressed the idea is still in the early stages of consideration and there are still many questions to be asked and answered about how it would work and whether it would be economical - and importantly, whether it could be done safely.
The idea was discussed at length at Monday's municipal services meeting by councillors, who received a report from Public Works Director Stewart Schafer about the scavenging initiative in Yellowknife.
According to the information provided to Schafer, Yellowknife's landfill has three "scavenging cells" that are flat asphalt paved pads near the entrance. Those residents with items that could be reused can take their waste material to one of the three cells. Two of the three cells can be open at any one time while the third is closed off.
A city employee monitors and evaluates the material dropped off for salvage. If the material is deemed non-salvageable, the employee can direct the individual to either on-site garbage bins or specific dump areas.
The general public is allowed to walk through to pick up materials that may be useful to them. Any material a person wishes to salvage is loaded into their vehicle and can be taken away from the cell at no cost. At the end of a week, one of the cells will be opened up for new material, while another cell will be closed off, with material removed and taken away to the landfill for disposal.
Yellowknife administration informed Schafer they have had success reducing material entering the landfill but warned the cells must be constantly monitored to prevent unwanted material entering them and becoming messy and hazardous.
Part of the reason Yellowknife has the scavenging cells has to do with its remote geography. Schafer had asked why so many perfectly good stereos or TVs were thrown away in Yellowknife and was told it costs less for people to throw them away and buy new ones upon their "return to civilization" as he put it, because of the prohibitive costs of transportation from Yellowknife to Edmonton, Calgary or wherever.
Schafer also noted they were particular about not allowing people to roam the rest of the landfill site for materials.
Schafer warned about a situation involving an individual who lost his life in Regina over a pop bottle at the bottom of the pit there.
