The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
As part of Waste Reduction Week in Manitoba from Oct. 18 to 24, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers and Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Oscar Lathlin have recognized efforts to recycle tons of scrap metal from the North. The ministers noted recent northern community recycling efforts to move 36,000 pounds of scrap metal by barge from Rankin Inlet to Churchill and on to Selkirk for processing as part of a joint Manitoba-Nunavut recycling initiative which began two years ago. The project also includes scrap metal recovery in Gillam and Churchill. The initiative is a direct result of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Manitoba and Nunavut in 2000. The agreement identified a number of areas of interest including transportation, mining, energy, health, tourism, cultural development, arts and crafts, value-added processing, resource development, trade and commerce, regional and community economic development, and education. Struthers and Lathlin noted that, in addition to the environmental benefits of removing scrap metal from the community waste sites, the project offers potential local economic benefits and further strengthens the transportation route between the Port of Churchill and communities in Nunavut. "This project has spurred additional interest in recycling in the North," Lathlin said. "Communities are coming up with new and innovative solutions to waste diversion issues. I am particularly pleased to note the partnership with Nunavut on addressing this major issue. This project is a direct result of our MOU with Nunavut and our provincial Northern Development Strategy."
