HIGH VALLEY Metals
and Recycling has the
contract to demolish the
old Skeena Jr Secondary
Schoel, a project which
began July. 2.

’ President of the compa-
ny Aaron. Angel said
“demolition could be com-
plete’ as early as next
week,

“To me, it’s a, small
project,” he said,

Angell is used to pra-
jects such as mine site
demolitions. with much
more debris.

Angell plans to recycle
‘approximatley 70 tonnes of
material out from the
Skeena Jr. demoliton site.

“He uses. a.large trailer
which he said can hold up
to 80 yards of ‘material at

"- any one time. ,

‘Angeli estimated that
approximately. 140 trailer-
loads: will be taken from
- the site.

GUS MEHRING of Bold Salvage and

Though Angell has de-
molished much bigger
structures, he said 140
trailer loads is a signifi-
cant amount.

“It's a lot of material,”
he said.

Much of the material
will be taken to the dump,
he said, but anything reus-
able, such as wood beams,
will be salvaged along
with recycable metals.

Angell carts the reus-
able material back to his
scrap yard on Queensway
Drive.

There it is separated,
crushed, and shipped off to
a metal smelting plant.

“Other things such as
windows, lockers and
desks were saved from the
old Skeena Jr. school to be
moved into the new
school.

Old Skeena will be
completely gone soon but
lives on through recycling,

oe

Recycling in

Thornhill stands beside his categorized metals.

Local artist uses recycled material
to depict ‘racial realities’ in Terrace

BENT NAILS splayed
across the artwork North-
west Co-existence tell the
story of how, Polish arlist
Marek Waszkiewicz sees
the relationship between
First Nations and white
people in Terrace.
“I wanted to incorporate
my thoughts on what I ob-
serve’ in society here,”
‘said Waszkiewicz who has
_lived in Terrace since the
summer of 1997,
The artwork comprised
of “recycled wood. and
metal took Waszkiewicz
‘three weeks to complete.
‘He -said the tap left
structure of a circle inside
‘a square symbolizes white
pedple as these are com-
‘mon shapes cf Euro-Cana-
_ dian art culture,
Waszkiewicz said the
kidney-shaped structure al
“the bottom right of his
~ work symbolizes First Na-
‘tions as a similar shape is
commonly found in north:
- west native artwork.
The nails connect. the

two structures through a
dishevelled diagonal line.

Waszkiewicz says this
represents haw First Na-
tions and white people in-
teracl together in Terrace.

“It represents to me the
essence of their co-exis-
tence,” he said. “It’s not
solid; it’s kind of broken,
very fragile.”

7 2

AND YOU thought Oscar the Grouch loves junk. Aaron Angell has been salvaging metal in Terrace since August of last year, Here he

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - AS

jun Kya rd a
treasures

>,
~

A special report by Jessie Gies

is picking up some scrap metal in his 200 Komatsu hoe with an attached magnet weighing around 1200 kilograms.

Local man makes
recycling his business

WHEN MOST people catch sight of a scrap
yard like Aaron Angell’s, what they see is a
pile of junk. Guys like Angell see pure gold,
That's because Angell makes a living out of
recycling metal, a business he said is not cur-
rently as popular in the north as compared to

areas. of heavier population like Vancouver

and Prince George. ;
Angell moved to Terrace with his wife and
two children a year ago and

steel.

He said metals ferrous metals -- ones that
contain iron -- are the materials that are easi-
est to come by and aren’t as valuable per va-
lume,

However, he said, that’s the kind of materi-
al that he ends up getting the most so Angell
ships as many as 40 tons. of material by rail a
week to make a profit, ,

He uses the hoe to crush mate-
rials which are further reduced

opened up High Valley Metals
and Recycling on Queensway

by employee Ian Phelps.

segs Hf
Drive. . Im just a guy try- Phelps torches the material
He had been working for ing to make a buck,” down into 60cm by 90cm piec-

another salvaging company in says Angell.

Prince George called Allen’s

es: These pieces are carted off
on CN railway cars which hold

Scrap and Salvage, but was at-
tracted to the fishing and fresh air of Terrace.
“I’ve always wanted to live up here,” he
said.
Angell said he’s slowly starting to build up
clientele,
“We've been experiencing the growing
pains of a new business,” he said.
Because he doesn't pay for materials, he
relies on companies and individuals who want
scrap removed from their lots,
He doesn’t do pick-up, but he'll accept an
scrap metal which includes anything as large.

as old cars --clean and oil free -- to something

as small as tin cans..

“I’m just a guy trying to make a buck,” ‘An-
gell said.

Other household items he accepts include

house siding, electrical wiring or household -—

water pipes,

Angell uses a 200 Komatsu hoe and at-
tached magnet to gather and separate materi-
als in categories of copper, aluminium and

aluminium and trees.

Lee Theatre, and had an

loads of up to 85 imperial
tones,
The material is shipped to Alto Steel in
Edmonton, where the metals are smelted and
then made into things like sheets of steel, train
tracks or I-beams.

Angell said he thinks his business will con-
tinue to grow as more peaple find out about it.

“It’s a convenient:place to dispose of any
scrap metal of any size,” he said.

He added any kind of recycling is good for
the environment,

Eric Pierce, environmental officer with the
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection,
says more people are getting into recycling.

“Now there are more facilities to receive

“metal and it’s convenient,” he said.

Angell said his wife and children enjoy liv-
ing in- Terrace and help keep the recycling
company going.

“If it wasn't for my wife and the endless
hours of support she puts into the company, it
wouldn't be a go,” he said.

“This is not my hobby,”
he said about his work,
“(It’s) my way of express-
ing myself.”

Waszkiewicz said
though he’s been working
in the forestry profession
for nearly two decades, he
would like to take his art
to a higher level.

“It represents to me the essence of their co-
existence, -- it’s not solid; it’s kind of broken,

very fragile.”

Waszkiewiez said
wood used in the piece
was retrieved from the
Terrace landfill site. He
didn't find suitable metal-
lic material at the landfill
so a friend donated the
pieces of aluminium,

“IT wanted to include
something with metal and
wood," Waszkiewicz said.

He said this is because
the ‘two major resources
processed in the area are

“I'd love to do it for a
living if I had an opportun-
ity,” Waszkiewicz said. ‘I
like creating art because
this is (my) way of ex-
pressing myself,”

“If 1 could pursue my
dreams I would like to cre-
até my paintings (and)
sculptures.on a profession-
al Level,”

Waszkiewica has had
arl shows at the Terrace
Art Gallery, the R.E.M.

opportunity to take North-
west Co-existence to the
B.c, Festival of Arts in
Yancouver last summer.

He is now working on
other pieces of art using
wood and metal which
may appear along with
other works at the Terrace
Att Gallery in October
2004.

This is when Waszkie-
wicz will display Unwel-
comed, an artistic installa-
tion of up to 50 structures,
sculptures and paintings.

“It's about people wha
struggle; all the unwel-
comed people in the
world,” he said.

Familiar Bridge and
The Run are two of Wasz-
kiewicz works now on dis-
play at the Terrace Art
Gallery, located in the
Terrace Public Library
basement. The pieces are
mixed media paintings.

For information about

viewing, call the Terrace MAREK WASZKIEWICZ makes an art oul of recycling

Art Gallery at 638-8884,

zi

wood and metal with

this piece called Northwest Co-existence. JESSIE GIES PHOTO