Gene Kane – Program Manager – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Adison Smith – Program Assistant – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ted Jacobson Receives Denali Commission Best Practice Award

On March 19, Ted Jacobson received the Denali Commission Best Practice Award during the Denali Commission’s quarterly meeting in Juneau. Ted serves as Solid Waste Tribal Liaison for Alaska under the auspices of Senior Services America, Inc. and RurAL CAP. For the past three years, he has visited communities throughout Alaska to offer technical assistance on solid waste projects.

Last year, Ted served as technical advisor to fourteen communities awarded solid waste projects through the Denali Commission. He researched supplies and equipment to best meet respective community requirements and tracked costs relating to time, technique, equipment, and other resources necessary for efficient operation of rural landfills.

A recent report in the Journal of Rural and Community Development (Volume 3, Number 3) about the impacts of solid waste on community sustainability in Alaska has been published online.

The report examines solid waste issues in several Alaska communities, including Tyonek, Tanana, Buckland and Bethel.

The authors concludes: 

"Therefore, to reduce the negative human and environmental health impacts of solid waste disposal, communities must rely in large part on themselves to initiate local waste disposal ordinances and practices that will reduce these impacts and increase recycling in their communities. Such recommended measures may include:

 (a) identifying and diverting hazardous wastes (electronics waste, lead acid batteries, liquid hazardous waste, and the like) from the waste stream; (b) selecting a location at the dump or elsewhere to store these materials safely for later removal; (c) restricting public access and exposure to the landfill by hiring a landfill operator/waste hauler who is properly trained in safety issues; (d) identifying burn practices and burn-box technologies that reduce toxic emissions and prevent smoke from blowing toward the community while burning trash; and (e) working with local retailers, shipping companies, and residents to reduce the volume of excess and unnecessary packaging materials from coming into the village in the first place as well as find new, cost effective ways to divert recyclables into the commodity market."

The report may be viewed at: 

http://www.jrcd.ca/viewarticle.php?id=233&layout=abstract

SOLID WASTE PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL YEAR

The Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP) has continued to perform in an outstanding manner as the Denali Commission's Solid Waste

Program partner.

Ted Jacobson works at RurAL CAP through Senior Services America, Inc. He has been busy providing solid waste management technical assistance to tribes across the state, especially benefiting communities receiving Denali Commission Solid Waste Program.

Last year, he served as a technical advisor to eleven communities awarded solid waste projects through the Denali Commission.  He provided expert assistance in researching supplies and equipment to best address the respective communities' solid waste project requirements.

Through Ted's efforts, and those of the other RurAL CAP staff members who have worked on Denali Commission Solid Waste Program projects, program funds have been spent in a manner that ensures maximum long-term benefit to the public.

Maiiilaq Association is utilizing a Denali Commission Solid Waste Program grant to develop a regional backhaul project in partnership with the City of Kotzebue and the Northwest Arctic Borough;

Kongiganak Traditional Council will utilize a Denali Commission Solid Waste Program grant to purchase equipment for use in the community's landfill;

Chilkat Indian Village will utilize a Denali Commission Solid Waste Program grant to purchase hazardous waste management supplies and fencing for the community landfill; and the City of Manokotak will utilize a Denali Commission Solid Waste Program grant funds to purchase to purchase equipment for use in the local landfill

On January 25, Federal Co-chair George Cannelos sent to Notification Letters to solid waste service providers in ten communities throughout Alaska.

The new projects are:

Native Village of Shishmaref, Burnbox - $99,719

Native Village of Nunapitchuk, Dumpsite Clean-Up - $36,000

City of Hooper Bay, Equipment Repair - $22,999

City of Bethel, Equipment Purchase - $37,646

Valley Community for Recycling, Equipment - $43,547

Tyonek, Junked Car Removal - $50,000

Native Village of Selawik, Equipment Repair - $34,156

Native Village of Nightmute, Supersack Baling Project - $99,645

City of Tanana, Burnbox, Fencing - $82,000

Native Village of Akiachak, Equipment Purchase - $32,157

The Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP) will administer the grants as a Denali Commission Solid Waste program partner.

This month's Denali Commission Solid Waste Program project developments are as follows:

• Hooper Bay - Work on the equipment repair project is essentially complete.
• Bethel - Equipment purchase project has been completed.  Project savings of approximately $5,900 will be recycled in the program.
• Valley Recycling - A new electric forklift arrived in Anchorage on June 25, 2008 and will be delivered to Palmer on July 1.
• Shishmaref - Signs, totes, and burn units are in transit via barge.
• Tanana - Fencing for the landfill is at barge yard.
• Tyonek - The Kenai Peninsula borough has approved a proposed project plan and issued 'request for quote' to Tyonek for work to be performed.
• Selawik - Dozer parts and tools currently in transit, via barge and US mail.
• Nightmute - To date, approximately 850 hours of clean-up labor has been performed burning, separating, and bagging solid waste.
• Akiachak, Nunapitchuk, and New Stuyahok burn unit manufacture for those projects is on target for August.

BACKHAUL PROGRAM RECEIVES AWARD FROM HARVARD