With a massive, unrestricted salvage area, the Yellowknife dump is one of the last and largest open dumps in North America. People from all walks of life go there, to search for everything from tools to clothes to home décor. Salvage follows a group of passionate salvagers over five years as the dump evolves and eventually succumbs to the inexorable efforts of city bureaucrats to subject it to sensible regulations and controls. As the dump loses its central place in the town’s civic and social life, the salvagers become increasingly irrelevant. This loss has seismic implications, both for this community of residents, and the identity of Yellowknife itself.

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