Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, published five times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.
Volume 15, Number 3 • Fall 2007
Lake Superior
Basin Update
Recycling to reduce contaminants entering Lake Superior
By Damien Lee, Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami
Toxic Soup
Fort William First Nation (FWFN) is an
aboriginal community on the northwest
shore of Lake Superior, adjacent to the city
of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Though our
community has a long history of interacting
with the lake, we have created over
time a pollution problem that may be
contributing to the Lake’s toxic burden.
Our community of approximately 1,700 people has a large
un-engineered and unmonitored dumpsite. The Squaw Bay Road
dump has existed for over three decades. The lack of engineering
means there is no leachate liner. The lack of monitoring means
people from the reserve and from Thunder Bay are able to dump
waste, including household hazardous waste, household garbage,
medical waste, animal carcasses, etc.When wastes such as these are
allowed to mingle in a dump with rainwater and stormwater runoff,
a toxic soupy liquid is formed called leachate. If there is no leachate
liner, this toxic liquid may migrate into the ground water and
ultimately adjacent surface waters. In the case of the Squaw Bay
Road dump, these contaminated ground waters and surface waters
are dangerously close to the shore of Lake Superior.
More disconcerting is that the FWFN Band pays for weekly
curbside garbage service, which collects members’ household waste
and takes it to the City of Thunder Bay’s engineered landfill. There is
no cost to members. In addition, FWFN has a bylaw that states
“non-community members will be charged for dumping waste on
FWFN land.” However, it does not restrict FWFN members from
dumping. With a few changes our community’s leachate problem
could be avoided in part by better conventional solid waste
management and by amending the existing bylaw to restrict all
dumping on FWFN land.
Taking Action
In 2006, community members concerned about environmental
issues formed a not-for-profit organization called Anishinabek of the
Gitchi Gami. Our first major project was to offer the community
more conventional solid waste management opportunities as a
means to reduce the perceived need to use the Squaw Bay Road
dump. FortWilliamFirst Nation’s first curbside recycling pilot project
was launched. Youth began by educating community members
about household hazardous waste issues.
Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami brought a mobile recycling depot to
the community’s annual powwow. This was the first time recycling
was available at our powwow, and over 200 people stopped to talk
to staff and volunteers about the idea. This initiative alone resulted
in over 75 kg of recyclable materials being diverted from the dump.
Moving forward
This summer the recycling pilot project offers curbside recycling to
80 of our 330 FWFN households. Recognizing that change moves
slowly, we see curbside recycling and household hazardous waste
education as the first steps toward eliminating leachate generation
at the Squaw Bay Road dump site.We believe that by engaging our
community members in this project they will take more pride in
keeping our land clean and become less tolerant towards people
dumping waste on Band land. As the program grows we foresee the
eventual closure and remediation of the Squaw Bay Road dump.
The lessons learned from implementing this two year curbside
recycling pilot project will direct Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami’s
future plans to expand curbside recycling into other parts of Fort
William First Nation. Full expansion will enable all community
members to contribute to halting the generation of leachate from
within our community.
For more information, contact Damien Lee at
connectwithdamien@gmail.com.
|
