Solid Waste Solutions in Rural Alaska::
Staging Materials for Reuse in the Community or Backhaul and success stories from the villages in Northwest Alaska, Venetie, Council of Athabascan Governments, and Newtok:

Staging Materials for Reuse in the Community or Backhaul
Backhaul is highly desirable and often leads to participation in other useful activities. However, coordinating backhaul efforts can be very time consuming and expensive. There may be other efforts that require less time and money that could take priority. Several of these efforts have greater benefits to environment and health than backhaul. Therefore, if you have limited time and money, it is very important to prioritize your program's efforts based on the goals of your community.

WHY?
Human and environmental health concerns can be greatly reduced by staging some of the materials that you may eventually backhaul. For example, diverting lead acid batteries, electronics, and fluorescent bulbs (to name a few) from the landfill to staging areas will prevent hazardous materials from leaching into the environment, or from being burned which exposes residents to toxic smoke.

Sno-gos, four-wheelers, and vehicles may not need to be backhauled for a long time once the fluids and batteries are removed. White goods (refrigerators and freezers) may also be okay to store for a long time after refrigerant (Freon) is removed and the fluids drained. With fluids and batteries removed, all of these items do not typically pose a serious or immediate threat to the environment or health. This is because it takes a very long time for these items to degrade in the environment. You can see that by looking at your vehicles abandoned many years ago. They are still there. When these vehicles do eventually rust out and disintegrate, the metals are not very harmful, and they do not migrate into the water or through the soil very easily. The plastic and rubber is not harmful unless it is burned, which can release chemicals into the air.

At many landfills, vehicles and white goods do not make up a high portion of the wastes. It is always a good idea to look carefully at your own landfill to see how much these wastes contribute to its area. They do take up at least some space in all landfills and when they are abandoned elsewhere, they can become an "eyesore" or present an injury hazard to children.

"Staging" is a term for making wastes safe and ready to backhaul, to re-use and salvage, or to store long-term. Staging mechanical wastes (items with engines or hydraulics) means draining the harmful fluids and removing the batteries. Staging electronic goods means storing them in a sheltered area where they won't deteriorate. Staging fluorescent bulbs means storing them back in the insulated box they came from, or packing them safely so they do not break. Staging batteries usually means storing them in covered totes. Staging aluminum can mean just tying them up in garbage bags until a plane is ready to take them.

Staging for Backhaul:
Staging for backhaul could help in developing a regional approach to a larger backhaul effort when there is funding, equipment, and time available. Your land and environment will be safe in the meantime. Working with more Villages will mean that the costs can go down and the efforts of developing a sustainable backhaul program can be shared.

While vehicles do not present a very high environmental and health risk for most communities, staging can reduce any risks from these wastes immediately. Finding a practical way to backhaul may take several years to accomplish. Therefore, training for staging may be a priority over backhaul efforts for many communities in the short-term.

Staging for Reuse:
The community will benefit from staging hazardous materials that may not be destined for backhaul. Recycling companies can make money from steel vehicles, lead batteries, copper pipes, and aluminum cans and boats if they can obtain it from you for no charge. But backhauling hazardous wastes is a different story. Due to strict regulations and logistics, it costs companies more money to recycle these wastes than they are worth. Some wastes like fluorescent bulbs and electronic goods can be posted out, or arranged for free shipping with the regional cargo company. Several villages have accomplished this on their own to send to places like Total Reclaim in Anchorage (561-0544), which has not yet charged villages for recycling these wastes. But hazardous fluids have very costly transport, disposal, and handling regulations. A drum can cost more than $500 to ship out to someone who will accept it. Details and contact information to determine rates of shipping out hazardous wastes from your villages may be found on the SWAN website at www.ccthita-swan.org/Tutorials/shipping_hazwaste.cfm.

The good news is that antifreeze and used oil may be staged and recycled within the community instead of backhauling. Paints, solvents, and cleaners may also be staged and then reused within the community. Again, because it produces immediate results in reducing community risks, education may take priority over backhaul efforts.

Used oil program - how to protect more of your water:
Petroleum hydrocarbons, such as used oil, have been detected in several river samples downstream of dumps and in the water in and around communities. A primary potential source for this is thought to be used oil from boat, atv, snowmachine, car, and heavy equipment engines. Although careful maintenance helps, some used oil leaks from older vehicles and is lost no matter what. You can see this when you drain old vehicles for staging. Draining used oil is required for backhauling, and it reduces the risk of used oil contamination. However, by the time a vehicle is abandoned, often not much is left of the oil. The largest portion of recoverable used oil that can contaminate the land and water is through people changing their oil and dumping it.

Think about it. During a vehicles' lifetime, the oil will be changed from 3 to 20 times in Villages, depending on the vehicle and other factors. In newer vehicles, very little leaks so that several quarts of oil during each change can be discarded at the dump, in town on the ground, or by the river (for boats).

Used oil is quite harmful to aquatic life and human health. One gallon of used oil contaminates one million gallons of water to above the standard for human drinking water. Think of a pond that is 6 feet deep, and 150 feet wide and 150 feet long. If a gallon of used oil were poured in and mixed, the entire pond would become contaminated for drinking until the oil and its toxic chemicals degraded.

If a car is drained for staging - you will be draining from nearly 0 to 4 quarts of oil. By draining the vehicle, you will be protecting about a half million gallons of drinking water (if all the oil reached the water and was not diluted by river flow).

But if a used oil collection program is started, you will be protecting that many gallons of water each time someone changes their oil and places it in the collector. For that same car, you can protect 10 to 20 times more water - 5 to 10 million gallons - and help to heat a building at the same time!

So, in communities with limited resources, education and funding efforts for people to not dump their used oil each time they change their oil may need to be the first priority over efforts spent on backhauling once at the end of a vehicles life.

To have an affordable and safe way to store your used oil from staging your vehicles, you will want to operate a used oil program anyway. Storing oil outside for too long can be dangerous due to rusting drums, and it can be expensive to transport.

To set up a used oil program, you just need used oil collection points (either transfer stations or a central workshop with open hours) and, preferably, a used oil burner, boiler, or blender. The total cost for a burner and several used oil stations can be about $12,000 to $15,000.

WHAT?
The following diagram is an example (provided by Total Reclaim, Inc.) of how a community could stage materials that they want to divert from an unlined dump.



Residential Used Oil Collection Stations:
Many villages now operate used oil burners to heat a building, and an increasing number are purchasing used oil boilers or blenders. See SWAN for their contact information and the type of used oil burner they use www.ccthita-swan.org/Tutorials/oil_burner/oil_burner12.cfm. These villages have success stories in diverting used oil from their environment and saving resources to heat buildings. A common problem however is that not many households participate, so that the bulk of residential used oil is still being discarded on the ground or in the river. That amount is enough to make millions of gallons of water unsafe to drink.

Akiachak is one village that is successfully addressing this issue. They recently purchased used oil stations for residents with their IGAP monies over a two year period. They have placed these stations throughout town and one at the harbor. The bright yellow stations are noticeable and easily accessible at all times, so residents began using them almost immediately. The staff picks up nearly a drum-full of used oil every few weeks, depending on the season. Based on the estimated amount of used oil generated by residents, this amount of oil tells the staff that they are getting really good participation from their community. This is all oil that used to be discarded in the water and on the ground. In other words, fifty million gallons of safe drinking water is potentially being protected for every drum collected.

WHO'S DOING IT?
Villages in Northwest Alaska

Staging to Prioritize Health and Environment:
Many Villages around the State have begun to work together and with different entities to prioritize how to spend their limited resources to best protect the environment in regards to handling wastes not destined for the landfill. They are planning for staging these wastes now, and carrying out locally-managed and locally-feasible scrap metal backhauling efforts after they have addressed their high priority risks as much as possible. One of these groups is the Northwest Arctic Solid Waste Working Group, comprised of the villages of Noatak, Noorvik, Kiana, Buckland, Shungnak, Selawik, Deering, Kivalina, and Kotzebue. They met to prioritize the regional and village actions needed to reduce their solid waste risks as much as possible, and as soon as possible. The meeting included a training about solid waste health risks, demonstrated staging and problem issues and wastes, and funding.

They asked the question: What should we focus on? What is the priority to backhaul out of our villages?

They then determined that their priority would be set based on: Health issues, Traditional values, Available funding, and Convenience/ease (resource use). Here are their results:

Priority Ranking of Backhaul 1-10 (10 being highest priority)
10	Sno-go/4-wheelers/vehicles, removing fluids and batteries is a higher priority than backhauling the vehicles, need training.
9	Plastic, don't burn (education higher priority), stage and consolidate at a hub.
7	Lead acid batteries, training needed.
6	Construction debris, compliance, education, contracts, agreements.
6	White Goods, remove refrigerant is higher priority than backhauling the appliances and need training.
6	Antifreeze, backhaul not a priority, education and recycle in village.
5	Wires, don't burn (education higher priority), store and stage copper, aluminum, and steel separately.
5	Solvent/paint/cleaners, backhaul not a priority, reuse and education is the priority.
5	Styrofoam, education, reuse, consumer choice.
1	Computers/electronics/cell phones, consolidate at a hub.
1	55-gallon drums/scrap metal, designated storage.
0	Tires, don't burn (education higher priority), other uses
0	Fluorescent lights.
0	Waste oil, backhaul not a priority, education and funding for used oil burner.
0	Propane tanks, education is higher priority, stage and recycle when able.
0	Household batteries, education, storing, consolidate at a hub. Propose Alaska Airlines collection centers.
0	Dead animals, No backhaul, education and segregation.
0	Glass, education, reuse (jelly, fish, seal oil).
0	Household furniture, reuse, separate scrap metal, education - don't burn.

They wanted to plan out the steps involved in staging and backhauling used batteries as an example:

What are the steps in staging batteries for transport?
Community and school education:
1	Most important for getting participation!!
Supplies:
1	1st aid, PPE (safety gloves, goggles, rubber boots, apron) eye wash, absorbent, placards, manifests, MSDS
2	Buy supplies in bulk (consolidate resources) Can Kotz buy totes?
Hauling/Transporting to airport or barge:
1	Modified sled for transporting?
2	Equipment: fish totes, fork lift / pallet jack
3	Designated Space (next to transportation choice)
4	Labor / training: proper storage and handling
5	Recruit Volunteers: education (volunteers can flag unknown hazards so untrained volunteers do not handle hazards)
6	Grants / Funding
7	Track Outcomes!
8	Get Recognition! Newsletters
Storage/Staging:
1	Fuel tanks - cut and cover
2	Old connexes
Shipping:
1	What can be outside and what needs to be inside?
2	Know the requirements, determine amount for planning purposes, plan to collect from fish camps.
3	Batteries in Fish Totes: absorbent, layer of batteries, layer of cardboard, layer of batteries, layer of cardboard, etc.
4	Can make tote out of plywood (line with plastic and put in absorbent), seal plastic.
5	5-gallon buckets (paint buckets) with lids and label.
6	Properly label batteries - placards.
Destination:
1	End destination? Where will we transport materials to? Need regional plan for some materials.
How and when?:
1	Determine Logistics for each community - Barge? Plane? How often? Some communities do not have barges anymore or never did. Selawik cannot get to their airport very well because the Bobcat forklift would destroy their boardwalks.

Each member of the group volunteered for a task to move their staging and prioritized waste backhauling forward. All of the tasks were completed by the next scheduled teleconference!
Contact: Any IGAP staff at the villages listed above.

Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government Backhaul Project
The Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government has been orchestrating a major backhaul of items from Venetie. Summary by Lance Whitwell: I was approached by Garry Webber of CATG on plans to begin backhauling white goods, hazardous material, etc. out of our villages. Of course this sounded good to me, as the environmental programs coordinator for the tribe. In early June, I attended a Freon removal tech training in Ft Yukon. As a part of the class we did some hands on training, and I discovered that the procedure is not as difficult as I had imagined it to be. Later on in June, Garry Webber, CATG, came to Venetie for a SWM workshop and to assist with the removal, and packaging of 2 PCB positive electrical transformers that were discovered in town. We discussed pushing the envelope on our newly formed partnerships with our resource agencies. As we have been TALKING for years about backhauling stuff from this area. But we have to fly everything into our villages, because there are no roads into our remote communities. The Air Cargo carrier had made a partnership with the YRITWC to receive backhaul items and transport back to Fairbanks. Since we were tired of talking about it, we decided to test the system:

So I began a freezer pick up service in Venetie and ended up with 12 on the first day and 3 on the next day. I called Garry in Ft. Yukon and told him to send up the Freon removal equipment on the next mail plane. Kind of in a rush, because we had no idea when the cargo plane would come in and we had to be ready. Rather than sending the equipment, Garry came up too. It worked out really good, because I took all of the freezers to the airport garage, and Garry had brought a banding tool. So we feverishly started removing Freon, then placing freezers onto pallets, and banding them all together. We repacked and banded the battery tote and prepared the PCB transformers in overpack drums. We were set to go and the system worked without any snags.

The EVERTS AIR CARGO plane came in, the VENETIE VILLAGE HOUSING ORGANIZATION used their loader and operator to load our items on the plane and took it all to Fairbanks, the YUKON RIVER INTERTRIBAL WATERSHED COUNCIL picked the stuff up in Fairbanks and took it all to Nenana and loaded it all on YUTANA BARGE LINES' slow boat to Seattle where it will all be recycled.

Contact: Lance Whitwell, NVVTG/ANA Tribal Energy Programs, 907-849-8165

Council of Athabascan Governments
CATG is working with the villages in the Yukon Flats region to assess solid waste issues. Garry Webber, CATG Solid Waste Coordinator, has developed a solid waste tracking system and is working with villages to develop a regional backhaul program. Checklists have been developed for backhauling specific materials such as batteries, refrigerators, and electronics.

CATG has also provided solid waste training in the region by collaborating with Total Reclaim, Inc., Alaska Forum, Inc, Solid Waste Association of North America, Alaska Chapter, Yukon River Intertribal Watershed Council, and Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals.

Contact: Garry Webber, 800-478-2667, gwebber@catg.org

Newtok
Newtok is, according to Bethel Recycling, the first (and possibly still the only) village to ship out electronic wastes. Despite every sort of environmental and logistical challenge, including the lack of heavy equipment and a dumpsite that is only accessible by boat twice per day due to tides. They have an active hazardous waste program. They have their staff HAZWOPER certified and a Freon Removal certified person and the equipment. They have an antifreeze recycler machine which is getting set up. Much of this was helped by them receiving a hazardous waste grant from EPA. But they took the initiative to draft up this very competitive national grant, with every chance at not getting it, and they got it. Newtok separates out their lead-acid batteries, fluorescent lights, and electronic wastes now. Because they burn, they are also starting to separate out plastic bottles from their waste stream for backhauling eventually to Bethel. Additionally, they are beginning a collection program for newspaper and aluminum cans and household batteries. They developed a hazardous waste and construction waste ordinance and contract for outside projects.



Contact: Margaret Nickerson, 907-237-2314, dinning69@yahoo.com