Plastic pollution on the Arctic coast © iStock

Solid Waste Management in Remote Arctic Communities

Building upon the outcomes of the 2016 ACAP workshop “Sharing Approaches on Community Solid and Hazardous Management Within Arctic Indigenous Communities” (Nome, Alaska 2016) which identified community priorities, best practices, and the need for a clearing house of solid waste information; the recommendation in the 2018 SDWG desk study “Best Waste Management Practices for Small and Remote Arctic Communities,” and promising results from the first two phases of the ACAP Kola Waste Project, this project seeks to cooperate with Indigenous Leaders, local, regional, and national governments, community leaders and solid waste management experts, to leverage available resources and scale up best practices that contribute to resilient and healthier Arctic communities.

ACAP and SDWG are committed to building on previous work to scale up solid waste management activities that assist not only the pilot communities but other Arctic communities that face similar challenges. The project also builds on the work of PAME and AMAP on marine litter and plastics. The project objectives include:

developing environmentally sound solid waste and marine debris management in Arctic communities;
building capacity in selected communities in need of solid waste management improvement, as demonstration projects;
encouraging cooperation and information sharing among pilot communities through workshops and community level developmental mentorship activities based on culturally appropriate communications and management templates;
support participation in, and conduct outreach workshops, virtually or in person, in Arctic communities outside the pilot communities in need of solid waste management tools;
developing information material for environmentally sound solid waste and marine debris management for Arctic communities, including a webpage that will serve as an online exchange network for community solid waste management planning. The website will serve as a “one-stop shop” for access to lessons learned, easy to follow tool kits, best practices, fact sheets, case studies, templates for agreements, and guidance on community standards.