The temporary closure of the free store at the city’s landfill could soon become permanent.

City staff are recommending council approve the facility’s permanent closure.

The site at the landfill served as a spot where residents could drop off reusable goods they no longer want and pick up items others had left if they wanted.

It was closed temporarily last April 7 after a hypodermic needle was found in a pile of items that had been left there.

As Dave Albisser, the city’s manager of waste services, said at last night’s council meeting: “Since the reuse store closed, both Raven Recycling and Salvation Army have reported a marked increase in the amount of donations dropped off at their respective locations.

“Due to the increased volumes, Salvation Army stopped accepting donations for a short period, while Raven Recycling added staff to attempt to better handle the influx of goods.”

Raven also operates a free store at its site in Marwell. The Salvation Army accepts donations that are later sold in its downtown shop.

Last May, the city gathered stakeholders together to look at reuse in the city and what the future could hold for it.

Space, public awareness and staffing were the top three priorities identified.

A stakeholder group was then started to look at how to proceed. It included representatives from Raven, the Salvation Army, the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter, Zero Waste Yukon, Habitat For Humanity and Yukonstruct.

“While the reuse stakeholder group had many ideas/discussions, no one organization has the capacity to take the lead on this initiative,” the report says.

“In addition, none of the ideas discussed were adequate to address the significant lack of space and co-ordination that is required to handle and distribute reusable goods.

“As a result, the city has not been successful in finding a community-based solution for reuse within the current budget.

“While the work on finding a solution to community reuse will continue, the operation of the reuse store presents considerable health and safety risks.”

It’s estimated only 10 per cent of the items that went into the free store were actually reused, the report adds. Many items made their way to and from the free store time and time again – or just didn’t leave the store.

Albisser acknowledged in his presentation though that this is simply a rough estimate based on observations.

“The result was an unhygienic and unsafe mixture of too many goods (some hazardous) that then needed to be landfilled,” Albisser stated in his report.

“It is likely that the same issues have arisen at Raven Recycling’s reuse store and Salvation Army.

“As such, the city’s reuse store, as an unstaffed shed open to any and all public donations, is both an unsafe and ineffective form of reuse.”

While free stores can be a way to divert waste from the landfill, it’s unclear how much waste diversion actually occurs. That’s because it’s difficult to measure, and such facilities often receive both low- and high-quality goods.

Each type of material also has different handling and space requirements, says the report to council.

It was also pointed out there are already a number of reuse options in the city in the form of local shops like the Changing Gear sports store that recently opened, and the Sequels clothing store, among others.

Also available are online options like Kijiji and Buy and Sell groups on Facebook. Those options are frequented by many locals.

“Since the basic requirements to address the operation of the reuse store are space and staff, the city is currently unable to offer the resources needed to appropriately handle this material,” Albisser said in bringing forward the recommendation.

“The reuse store does not have sufficient resources to offer a safe and effective service that contributes to waste diversion.”

As council members debated the pros and cons of closing the reuse store for good, both Albisser and Bryna Cable, an environmental co-ordinator with the city, emphasized that the work of finding a way to allow for safe reuse options for the entire community will continue.

It was clear, though, that a solution has yet to be found.

Cable pointed to the idea that came from discussions with stakeholders about the potential for one-stop shop for reuse.

Albisser pointed out that each type of material – from e-waste to textiles to construction materials and others – have different space and handling needs. He said it would prove difficult to keep them all in one site.

“I think there’s many, many solutions,” he said.

Council members appeared conflicted on the issue too.

Councillors Jocelyn Curteanu and Rob Fendrick, who attended the meeting by conference call, cited the benefits of options being available for residents who want to pass on items others could use. They also mentioned the importance of reusing to keep waste out of the landfill.

Meanwhile, Mayor Dan Curtis voiced his support for the points made in Albisser’s report around the need for safety, options already available for reuse through the private sector and online options, as well as the ongoing work to find better solutions.

“I’m encouraged by the direction we’re going,” he said.

In separate interviews this morning, the executive directors of both the Raven Recycling Society and the local Salvation Army said the ongoing closure is continuing to impact each of their organizations. They also cited the work underway to find a solution.

“We sort of knew it was coming,” Joy Snyder of Raven commented of the potential permanent closure.

Raven has been able to add a bit more space and devote more staff time to its free store in light of the increased volumes coming in.

However, Snyder said that volume remains an issue. Consequently, applications have been put in for funding that would help more accurately look at the volumes arriving and leaving and devote a staff position to the free store.

The issue, though, is not unique to Whitehorse.

Snyder has attended conferences focused on reuse, with delegates coming from around the world in the hopes of finding a solution to the amount of goods that continue to accumulate.

The development of big box stores selling cheap goods has changed local consumer habits.

That has a big impact on the amount of items coming in, Snyder noted.

Even before the city’s free store closed last April, she noted, there was an obvious escalation in the amount of goods being toted in to Raven’s free store.

At the Salvation Army, Ian MacKenzie said the increase has meant a packed storage space and greater difficulty processing goods to get them to the storefront.

MacKenzie was asked whether any staff time has been added to simply processing the goods since April, when the city’s free store closed.

He said it hadn’t, noting that the store operates on a tight budget.

Money from the store goes to other services the Sally Ann offers in the city – the shelter, the soup kitchen and the like.

“It has certainly had an impact on us,” MacKenzie said of the city store’s closure. Discussions to find an overall answer, though, have been positive, he added.

“I’m optimistic,” he said, noting he believes a “workable solution” will eventually be found.

Council will vote next week on the potential disappearance of the city’s free store.