Pond Inlet to get new garbage bins, light poles with federal cash

Environment May 29, 2023 – 8:30 am EDT

Ottawa provides $400,000 to make hamlet more eco-friendly, improve safety

Pond Inlet will receive nearly $400,000 from the federal government to install up to eight new lighting poles and distribute 120 eco-friendly garbage bins to residents to improve safety and waste management in the hamlet, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal announced on Thursday. (File photo)

By Madalyn Howitt

Pond Inlet will soon become brighter and more eco-friendly with new light poles and steel garbage bins on the way, the hamlet’s SAO said Friday.

Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal announced Thursday that his department will give the hamlet $398,439 to fund the projects, to help make the community cleaner and improve waste management.

The hamlet, which has a population of around 1,555, will install six to eight new light poles to help improve visibility along pathways, especially during the dark winter months, said senior administrative officer David Stockley.

About 120 garbage bins made of galvanized steel will be installed in Pond Inlet this year, in an effort to make the hamlet more eco-friendly and to improve waste management, SAO David Stockley said. (Image courtesy of David Stockley)

Some will be placed on a pathway between the Northern Store and the Co-op, an area residents have been asking to be better lit for safety reasons, he said.

“Hopefully we’ll start having the poles put in place and everything installed before the fall when the darkness is more prominent.”

Each light pole will cost about $10,000, he said.

Some Pond Inlet residents can also expect to receive new garbage bins made of galvanized steel. The material is meant to be more durable and sustainable than wood and other forms of metal, which can wear down or rust more quickly than steel, Stockley said.

“Even the hinges on these garbage bins of stainless steel [are] very high quality,” he said.

About 120 bins will be delivered to the community this year, and Stockley said the hamlet may apply for funding to buy more bins next year.

The new garbage bins will also be more polar bear-proof and weatherproof, preventing garbage from being taken or scattered out onto the roads, he added.

Pond Inlet is a popular tourist destination in the North and a frequent stop for cruise ships sailing through the Northwest Passage.

Stockley said the hamlet hopes that better garbage bins and lighting will help keep the community cleaner and safer for residents, and more attractive for tourists coming through during the popular cruise season.