Churchill considers burning, composting waste to keep polar bears out of town
CBC
The Town of Churchill is looking to change how it deals with its waste, in hopes of preventing polar bears from making their way into the northern Manitoba community.
Unofficially known as the polar bear capital of the world, Churchill is studying how it can burn and compost waste that can attract bears and bring them into contact with people.
Waste is currently stored in an old military building north of the town's airport, where it sits for two to three years before it's taken to an enclosed landfill, said Geoff York, senior director of research and policy with Polar Bear International — a non-profit that's working with the town on the project.
"If you think of this massive, kind of open-air metal building sitting with two years of trash inside of it, what an attractant that could be for hungry bears," he said.
But a new waste facility could help solve this problem.
Burning the waste when it's collected means polar bears will be less likely to wander into town, York said.
"Getting that waste processed more quickly — not holding it … should help eliminate a significant source of attractant smell around the community," York said.
The town is considering using a pyrolytic thermal oxidizer — sometimes called a thermal incinerator — to burn non-organic and burnable waste, said Susan Maxson, a consultant working with Churchill on the project with the help of a University of Manitoba professor who specializes in waste management.
The waste would go through two chambers that would heat it at very high temperatures until it breaks down and contaminants are removed. It then would get moved to a scrubber, which would make sure anything emitted from the burning process is environmentally safe, Maxson explained.
"We're looking to be as green as possible. We are a green community ... that has been struggling to be green in this respect, and this is as environmental as we can get in the north, we think," she said, adding that the proposed process is still being considered and could change.
"We're always looking for creative ways of finding a clean solution to disposing of our waste," said Churchill Mayor Mike Spence.
"We're looking at a solution that in fact can be a model for other northern communities."
The project would also turn organic waste, which wouldn't be burned, into compost. The waste would be broken down inside the facility in an "in-vessel composter," said Maxson.
"The process is quite quick, and it stops smelling very quickly," she said.