"SN Band Council to recognize local recycling company"

Six Nations Band Council is considering recognizing A.W. First Nations Recycling as an official advocate of the council so that the company can obtain grant money to improve recycling and waste diversion on the territory.

Mark Annett, one of the partners of the Six Nations-based company, told the Physical and Economic Development Committee on Friday it can access grant money from Aboriginal Affairs' First Nations Infrastructure Fund, but only if band council passes a resolution recognizing them as advocating for waste diversion specifically on behalf of council.

Annett says the company, which has been in operation at the Six Nations landfill since August 2013, can use the money to increase recycling awareness awareness in the community and to expand its services across the territory, with an eventual goal of achieving an 80 percent recycling rate on Six Nations.

The company has already improved Six Nations' recycling rate from only two percent in previous years to almost 20 percent since operations started last summer.

"What we're looking for is some type of a resolution to potentially designate us as an advocate for the council in regards to recycling waste," said Annett, who partnered with Six Nations man Bill Warner to create A.W. First Nations Recycling. "Through Aboriginal Affairs, a company can be designated as an advocate for them (band councils) by filling out some paperwork and we would be able to propose for potential funding for waste disposal and waste diversion projects."

The suggestion is the latest attempt at solving Six Nations' waste crisis and overflowing landfill site on Fourth Line Road.

The issue came to the forefront in late May when a number of Six Nations people shut down the controversial Kearns Disintegrator at the landfill amid concerns of toxic emmissions, foul odours and inadequate worker safety.

The Kearns disintegrator is an unproven technology brought to Six Nations last November for a trial run through an agreement between band council and Nova Scotia inventor John Kearns.

He had claimed his machine could disintegrate of all types of waste - excluding radioactive waste - with zero emissions. The unproven technology, which was invented over 30 years ago, has never been in operation in any municipality anywhere in Canada.

Kearns was ordered to shut down his machine and leave the territory during the protest in late May, with community members calling on band council to test the machine for emissions or find other solutions for dealing with Six Nations waste.

At a packed community meeting June 7, band council said it was going to try and get the machine independently tested for emissions but as of last Friday, elected Chief Ava Hill said the project and testing plans were still in limbo.

"We still haven't made a decision on it," she said.

A.W. said it will cooperate with band council if it decides to keep the $3 million Kearns machine here, but the company also has expansion plans for curbside waste pick-up at every home on the territory - which they can truck off-reserve - but only if it receives sufficient funding and grants to expand their business.

"We're fairly competent at putting together these proposals and the potential for securing funding (from FNIF) is pretty high," said Annett. "You have to be designated with a resolution from council to even start that process up."

Currently, A.W. sorts recyclables from non-recyclable waste at the Six Nations landfill and transports the recyclables off-reserve to an end-market user that pays the duo a fee depending on the material, similar to scrap metal companies that pay people for bringing in scrap metal.

A.W. wants to expand their services to increase recycling in the community, re-organize operations at the landfill to ensure more efficiency, and in the long run, conduct door-to-door waste and recycling pick ups throughout the reserve. The company currently only picks up recyclables from community households that have signed up for their service.

The Physical and Economic Development Committee said it would discuss the suggestion and come back to the company with an answer within the next month.