Solid Waste Solutions in Rural Alaska::
Upgrading and Providing Frequent Maintenance to Your Landfill Access and a success story from Koyukuk:

Upgrading and Providing Frequent Maintenance to Your Landfill Access:
Human and environmental health concerns are greatly reduced and the size of your dump can be controlled by upgrading and providing frequent maintenance to your landfill access, which will be addressed here. If you are looking for a more comprehensive list of practical and cheap tips for making your dump safer, please reference Making Your Dump Safer For You and Your Community: An Operator's Workbook at http://www.zender-engr.net/docs/making_your_dump_safer.pdf

WHY?
Without good access to your landfill, people are at higher risk of injury and more likely to track contaminants from the landfill to the community and into their homes. This concern is greater when considering the dumping of honeybuckets. Visualize what contaminants from your dump may be tracked back to the village roads and boardwalks on people's shoes or tires. Contaminants such as chromium, lead, and diesel from batteries and used oil may have possible health consequences that can result from ingestion, inhalation, or contact with these chemicals. One possibility of ingestion or inhalation is from the chemicals adhering to dust particles that are breathed in after being stirred up by four-wheelers.

A more detailed summary of health and environmental considerations of open dumps can be found in Chapter 3 of A Guide to Closing Solid Waste Disposal Sites in Alaska Villages at www.zender-engr.net/docs/site_closure_guide.pdf

As stated in Left Out In the Cold, "Poor dump conditions can often lead residents to use alternative means of waste disposal that can actually increase their health and environmental risks. Besides increased waste burning, resulting disposal practices can include long-term storage of wastes outside of homes, increasing household vector risks. Residents may make use of an out-of-sight river dump or other dump site that is easier to access; thus increasing water contamination risks, and extending the problem of uncontrolled dumping to other areas outside of town. But away from town is where subsistence fish camps and hunting grounds are often located."

WHAT?
Upgrading the Access to Your Dump: Make it easy to get in and out of your landfill so that residents will use the landfill and dump wastes (and recyclables) in the appropriate areas. What makes access easy? Do residents use 4-wheelers, snow machines, trucks to haul their trash to the dump? Is there enough room to get into the appropriate dumping areas and easily turn around without having to back up?

Frequent Maintenance: Maintaining your dump access is also an important part of encouraging proper disposal at your dump and keeping residents from tracking contamination back to the village. Access will also help prevent your dump from "growing" toward the village. Without access to the designated dump area, residents will dump where it is most convenient. Have you noticed that if one bag of trash is dumped in a place where it doesn't belong, it acts like a magnet for others? A bag of trash near the entrance to the dump makes it easier for the next person to believe it is okay for them to drop their trash their too. If the dump access is not frequently maintained, trash may build up and block the way to the proper disposal area. Keeping your dump maintained of these misplaced bags/items can greatly improve the overall life of your dump.

Additional information on health risks caused by dumps and best management practices can be found in:
Left Out In the Cold- Solid Waste Management and the Risks to Resident Health in Native Village Alaska at www.zender-engr.net/docs/swm_health_risk_stats.pdf
Solid Waste Procedures Manual for Municipal Class III Solid Waste Landfills at www.dec.state.ak.us/eh/sw/Factsheets/Class3Manual.pdf

WHO'S DOING IT?
Koyukuk
Koyukuk has a circular drive that residents use to access the open cell at their dump. They use movable plastic fencing to close off portions of the dump and to create access for where people should dump. Here is how they were able to upgrade their dump with improved access that is easier to maintain and encourages good dumping procedures by the community.

A construction company was planning to perform work in Koyukuk and would significantly increase the population from 89 to 119 with the construction company employees that would be staying in town. The Koyukuk environmental department asked the construction company to upgrade their dump site. Leona first called Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) to ask advice and TCC gave the construction company, Nippo Construction, a call to see what their plans were. TCC said that since they were significantly adding to the population, they should donate assistance to the community for the waste generated and Nippo agreed. Here's what Nippo construction did:

• gave them fish totes for batteries and eight empty 55-gallon barrels, and lined wooden boxes for shipping the barrels
  
  
• hauled some batteries and scrap metals to the barge landing
  
  
• backhauled the materials
  
  
• upgraded the dump - they closed a cell and opened a new cell and stockpiled six loads
  
  
• gave them moveable plastic fencing to close off portions of the dump and to create an access for where people should dump
  
  
• gave them 40 supersacks to put steel and old insulation in them
  
  
• extended the salvage area