Haida Gwaii Clean Up Project by MARR
Introduction
For those who may be unfamiliar, Haida Gwaii is an archipelago (cluster of islands) on the northern Pacific coast of Canada that boasts one-of-a-kind wildlife and a lush rainforest ecosystem. It also has a long-standing history, as it is the ancestral home of the Haida Nation in BC. Although Haida Gwaii contains a tight-knit community of just over 4,000 residents and is not easily accessible, it still sees thousands of visitors each year, with tourism being one of its main industries alongside logging, fishing, and mining.
Waste Management Background
Waste management is a fundamental aspect of every community’s health and safety but can prove to be difficult for certain geographical areas. Haida Gwaii is one such community, as the group of islands makes what is normally a simple trip for waste removal a process that instead involves many logistical challenges. As a result, waste removal has not been an intuitive or easy practice amongst the residents and visitors to Haida Gwaii.
MARR
MARR (Major Appliances Recycling Roundtable) is the not-for-profit stewardship agency in BC that was created to implement and operate a stewardship plan for end-of-life major household appliances in BC. MARR has been collecting units from Haida Gwaii since mid-December of 2020 from 4 permanent collection sites in the area. Despite these efforts, there has been a historic scrap metal pile which included household appliances that was not being addressed, as the cost to sort and transport the materials exceeded the revenue that the sale of the metal would generate. This issue was made very evident by this metal pile that had been continuously growing for nearly two decades in Haida Gwaii. Before removal, the metal pile was estimated to weigh roughly 700-900 tonnes.
Rob Kidd of Island Solid Waste, who had been organizing efforts to get this material removed for 12 years, manages the 4 MARR collection sites in the area. Thanks to him, this issue was brought to the MARR team’s attention in 2022.
Photo of the metal pile taken in January 2022. Although the pile doesn’t seem that tall, the material extends well below ground level.
Once MARR received word of this, the team knew it was crucial to work on the removal of this material to prevent further contamination of the surrounding areas. Although the MARR mandate is to focus on the recycling of large appliances, which accounted for roughly 60% of the total volume of the material, the team was resolved to remove and properly dispose of all the material in the pile, as they recognized the collective responsibility we all have to keep our ecosystems clean and healthy.
Clean Up
In 2022, MARR began its search for transporters who would be willing to partner on this cleanup project. Given that Haida Gwaii is in a remote location that is not easily accessible and the sheer volume of work that would be involved, it wasn’t until 2023 that the team found a partner who would be willing to take on a project of this magnitude. In June 2023, clean-up began in partnership with Kristoff Trucking, based near Prince Rupert.
After 6 months of hard work, the scrap metal removal project was completed on December 7, 2023. The Port Clements landfill and Skidegate Transfer Station yielded approximately 950 and 350 metric tonnes of scrap materials, respectively. While the initial plan was to only clean up the single pile at the Port Clements landfill, the team was able to also tackle the growing pile at the Skidegate Transfer Station, which was a bonus in terms of the higher-than-expected impact this cleanup was able to make on more than one location.
In total, the team loaded a total of 47 flat deck trailers with either loose scrap metal in roll-off bins or bales of compressed metal.
Before (January 2022):
After (December 2023):
MARR Executive Director Michael Zarbl’s partnership with Island Solid Waste has been critical, as it has since prompted other EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) programs to extend their recycling and waste removal services to Haida Gwaii as well.
Executive Director of MARR Michael Zarbl reflected on the work that was done to complete this cleanup project. “A big thank you to our team who worked hard to establish permanent MARR collection sites in Haida Gwaii. Although the scrap metal pile didn’t grow larger because of the addition of our collection sites, we still felt we had a responsibility to clean up the existing scrap metal pile that had piled up prior to their establishment. Not only did we want to prevent any new scrap metal being added to the pile, but we wanted to clean up the backlog that had built up.” He clarified that MARR went beyond just organizing the cleanup, as they also subsidized the cost. “Because of the demanding nature of this project and the lack of financial incentive, we provided a significant financial contribution towards making this happen. Even with our contribution, this project wasn’t one that would turn a huge profit, so it was critical for us to work with others who shared our vision and sense of responsibility in keeping our natural environments free of contamination and waste hazards. “
Our partner Robb Kidd from Island Solid Waste (North Coast Regional District) shared that this project took “a considerable amount of time and effort, as it has been over 10 years that we have tried to remove scrap metal from our facilities.” He thanked MARR and noted that his team “was very impressed with MARR’s objectives and willingness to assist us in removing stockpiled metal and scrap material from our sites.”
Murray Kristoff of Kristoff Trucking reflected that “the recent Haida Gwaii scrap metal removal project was challenging but very rewarding for myself and our crew.” He went on to add that “the majority of residents of Haida Gwaii have a great deal of pride for their islands and recycling remains a top priority, we were proud to be able to assist them and thank Robb Kidd from the SQRD and MARR for encouraging us to take on this worthwhile project.”
Looking ahead
We’d like to thank Rob Kidd for his steadfast dedication towards the facilitation of the clean-up efforts in Haida Gwaii, as well as Murray Kristoff of Kristoff Trucking for taking on this months-long, tireless project.
It is our hope that we can continue to help service areas such as Haida Gwaii, and to continue to raise awareness around issues of sustainability and environmental protection.
Our Partners
Kristoff Trucking, located in the District of Port Edward: https://www.kristofftrucking.com/
Robb Kidd of Island Solid Waste (North Coast Regional District): https://www.ncrdbc.com/services/waste/landfill-transfer-stations