Dear Editor,

What to do with all our waste is an almost insoluble problem.Recently the idea of an incinerator seems like a good idea. It is a dreadful waste of money to send all our garbage to Lachute, Que. considering the price of gas and we have plenty of land. Unfortunately, we are also surrounded by rivers which will easily become polluted. An incinerator would work, but the ones I have heard about require more garbage than we produce and would involve more trucks delivering it from distant locations in Quebec and even Ontario.

After reading an article by Barbara McClintock Principal Action and the Environment; Mercier, Quebec in Quebec Heritage News Spring 2022, I began to doubt that even though there are regulations and procedures that should protect the water systems surrounding them, problems arise that are difficult to solve. My hope is that an incinerator that uses less garbage is invented that could work in our area.

My personal solution with compostable garbage is to bury it in my flower beds, always covering it with soil. When the main flower beds freeze, I bury it in my flower boxes attached to the warm house that do not freeze as easily. In the summer, when there is more to compost, I take it to my cottage and add it to my proper composters. I think it is a crime to send compostable garbage out of the county that could be used to fertilize the land.

I also ponder about the recycling. Why do we in Shawville not have to sort our recycling when other villages do? Is there some mechanical device that sorts it automatically? I think it is amazing that the town gets paid for recycling. Of course, I am glad that it is not sent to Lachute. I recycle as much as I can myself. I reuse the plastic milk bags rather than buying baggies. It seems there is no way to live without plastic. Looking for solutions.

Venetia Crawford

Shawville, Que.