City of Iqaluit should stop burning cardboard and wood: Nunavut health dept.

Nunavut's chief medical health officer is asking the City of Iqaluit to stop burning cardboard and treated wood in its landfill, citing air quality concerns.

Dr. Kim Barker has sent a letter to the city requesting that it stop the practice, pointing to a scrap metal fire earlier this summer near the dump, when the health department issued an advisory about smoke inhalation.

• City of Iqaluit declares dump fire out

"Following the fire this summer we were very concerned about the fact there is a potential risk, particularly for people with underlying respiratory disease," Barker said in an interview with CBC.

"It's really important that people have clean air to breathe and sometimes there's a risk with those products being burnt."

The city hasn't burned wood and cardboard for months, though it had nothing to do with Barker's recommendation — equipment failure is to blame.

Its burn box, a piece of equipment that's less than two years old and cost more than $100,000 — bought specifically for burning these types of materials — was broken.

A spokesperson for the city says many parts have needed replacement during the machine's short operational life, but new parts were shipped in and the burn box has now been fixed.

However, Mayor Madeleine Redfern says the city is holding off on restarting the machine until it meets with health officials to discuss options moving forward.

"We're very alive and aware to the need to be environmentally responsible," Redfern said.

"At the same time we're also very aware that open garbage burning happens in the other communities and is not separated."

Wood, cardboard piling up

In the meantime, wood and cardboard have been piling up at the dump.

The city is covering some of it with soil, like it does with the rest of its garbage, and the remainder is being shipped down south to a recycling facility.

"It is definitely starting to become an issue, especially at this time of year when we've just had sealift," said Redfern.

"There's a lot of boxes."

Barker's letter was only sent to the City of Iqaluit, though she is suggesting a similar recommendation for other hamlets.