Manitoba Agency Testing Scrap Metal Project in North Province

According to a report by CBC News, sizable amounts of scrap metal from northern part of Manitoba are being brought south as part of a pilot recycling project.

Trucks, trains and barges are being used to bring old vehicles, appliances and building materials to Selkirk, MB, for recycling.

"There's a lot of scrap metal in northern Manitoba, and it's just sitting there and accumulating over the years," says Kim Hickes, a community development officer with North Central Development, the Thompson company managing the project.

"Some of our places have had scrap metal in their communities for 40 or 50 years. A lot of times, industry will go in to do stuff and just leave their equipment there when they leave, put it back on the community. There just wasn't enough funds or co-ordination to be able to get it out there."

Last year, more than 1,000 metric tons of scrap metal were been taken out of Gillam, Manitoba; and another 16,000 kilograms have been shipped down from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Organizers expect to remove another 1,100 metric tons of scrap metal from Churchill, Rankin Inlet and Coral Harbour this year.

The provincial, federal and territorial governments are providing funding for the project, as are Manitoba Hydro and the Churchill Gateway Development Corp.