Scaling Up the Cleanup: Donlin Gold and Partners Collect More E-Waste, Trash Than Ever
Electronics are stacked on pallets at a recent Donlin Gold e-waste collection event.
Donlin Gold
Donlin Gold, along with Delta Backhaul Company, tribal entities, and in-region community organizations, assisted the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in disposing of electronic and other waste in an effort to keep communities safe and healthy. This year the total waste collected was nearly 235,000 pounds, 100,000 more than the amount collected last year.
Good Neighbor, Good Steward
“The project is about being a good neighbor and taking care of each other. We are committed to ensuring sustainability and prosperity in the region. Being a good steward extends beyond the project site to include the surrounding region and the people connected to the land. Every year, we accomplish more, which means that we can be a good neighbor to even more people,” says Donlin Gold Community Relations Coordinator Colleen Laraux.
The Backhaul Project hosted a collection event in Bethel on August 30, gathering approximately 12,500 pounds of electronic waste. Materials collected, which are typically unfit for rural landfills, included televisions, computers, batteries, used oil, and more. Improper disposal of these can lead to water contamination through contact with precipitation. After collection, the materials were packaged and barged to Anchorage for disposal or recycling. Some materials are then shipped to Seattle for further recycling.
Current Issue
November 2024
Fish Camp, Remote Site Success
In addition to the Backhaul collection event in Bethel, partners took on three additional collection opportunities this year: a fish camp cleanup, Yukon River household hazardous waste backhaul, and Kuskokwim appliance backhaul.
Donlin Gold and its partners collected hundreds of pounds of items at cleanup events around the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.
Donlin Gold
“The success of a fish camp/remote site Backhaul Project in the Middle Kuskokwim was an unknown until we tried it, but now I have no doubt about the value of such efforts based on the volume of materials we collected and safely removed,” says Dan Gillikin, environmental director for the Native Village of Napaimute.
In collaboration with the Native Village of Napaimute, the fish camp cleanup project collected four, 20-foot containers of unwanted materials from nearby fish camps. Between three Yukon River villages—Marshall, Pilot Station and Pitkas Point—17,200 pounds of e-waste, fluorescent light bulbs and batteries were retrieved. Along the Kuskokwim River, the program received 449 appliances, equal to 103,550 pounds, from Tuntutuliak, Napakiak, Napaskiak, Kwethluk, and Akiachak.
Several partners and sponsors played a valuable role in making the 2023 Backhaul Project a success: Native Village of Napaimute; Delta Backhaul Company; Association of Village Council Presidents; City of Bethel; Ryan Air; Grant Aviation; Fox Air; Alaska Commercial Company; Central Recycling Services; and tribal administrators.
Hundreds of fluorescent light bulbs were collected at cleanup events held by Donlin Gold and its partners this summer.
Donlin Gold
Donlin Gold is owned by NOVAGOLD Resources and Barrick Gold , a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. Donlin Gold is working with NOVAGOLD Resources, Barrick Gold Corporation, and Alaska Native landowners The Kuskokwim Corporation and Calista Corporation to build a gold mining project near Donlin Creek in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of western Alaska. For more information visit donlingold.com.
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