Yukon garbage pickers will now be charged $10 a year to rifle through trash at the city's landfill.

The $10-charge, according to Whitehorse Public Works manager Brian Crist, is the first time there has been a fee attached to a scavenging permit.

The money, Crist said, will be used to cover the costs associated with permitting people to treasure-hunt at the dump.

'It's the first time we've put in a charge ... it's to cover administrative costs,' he said.

'The permit has tightened up recently due to liability issues.'

The new fee, Crist said, will come into effect after city council passes the 2006 budget in January.

Crist said there were also some new scavenging regulations to guard against liability issues and to promote safe practices while trash-mining.

New additions to the terms and conditions of the scavenging licence require the permit holder to wear safety boots with toe and shank protection, use an approved hardhat and don a safety vest and leather gloves.

Other terms and conditions of the city's scavenging permit include:

ï An age limit of 18 years and above;

ï A limit of eight scavengers at the dump at any one time;

ï Avoidance of the domestic waste area of the landfill; and

ï Prohibition of the use of torches, grinders or other spark-producing tools.

Peter Dymacek, who works the gate at the city's landfill, said scavenging is a popular activity with approximately 268 permits issued in Whitehorse in 2005 and a number of permit holders hunting through the dump each day.

'The average number of people coming through here in the winter is probably six to 12 a day; that increases in the summer time,' he said.

He said scavengers are isolated to the metal and construction piles at the landfill and that records are kept of who is coming in and out.

He said most scavengers come with pick up trucks or cars and scavenge for hot-ticket items including lumber, metal and spare vehicle parts.

Dymacek also said that while scavengers are acting in line with their permit obligations, they did sometimes cause delays for commercial disposal trucks trying to dump their loads in the scavenge patch.

'It does, on occasion, cause problems to the commercial haulers,' he said.