Big Decision Ahead

Dear Editor,

We have a problem, a slow-growing problem with no really good solution. We have trash, stuff we bought but don’t want and can’t use. The packaging that comes with every single thing we buy, the worn-out tires, the cheap particle board furniture, the plastic toys that don’t last long enough for a tyke to get tired of them, all this stuff piles up around us, until we stoop to low degrees to have it be gone.

So far, the plan has been to gather this material and ship it to Lachute, where it gets dumped into a hole, compacted and covered with a thin layer of dirt. That’s an expensive process, in terms of money and environmental degradation. The big hole in Lachute has a limited lifetime, and then what do we do?

One plan being presented is to build a large high-temperature incinerator, where the residual waste that can’t be recycled or reused will be burned. As a by-product of this process, steam created can turn a turbine and generate electricity. What do we think about that?

For one thing, this is a huge undertaking, such a plant is large and expensive to build. How expensive? Half a billion dollars. That is comparable to the building of the PPJ railway, which promised to change the face and function of transportation in the Pontiac, a century and a half ago. Was it worth it? We don’t get a do-over, to see if the Outaouais would have been better off without it.

A decision was made then, and the railway was built, river traffic diminished, towns along the railroad thrived while other towns were bypassed and withered, and the railway was never completed to the promised connection to the trans Canada rail system. Again, was it worth the effort? Will the incinerator project be worth the effort? Let’s become informed, and make a decision that future generations will have to live with.

Information is freely available as to how the proposed system works, including some of its shortcomings. After some discussion, the plant will either be built or not built, and we will have the rest of our lives to discuss whether it was worth it or not. If there’s a better way of dealing with residual waste, right now would be a good time to bring it up for discussion.

Robert Wills,

Thorne and Shawville, Quebec

In favor of energy from waste

Dear Editor,

I attended a town meeting in Fort-Coulonge, on Waste-to-Energy by MRC Pontiac. It is about time that this project is moving forward. I am for the Waste-to-Energy power plant in Pontiac, QC. Not a new idea, there are over 2,600 Waste-to-Energy active plants worldwide. They dispose of over 460 million tons of waste.

I prefer the Waste-to-Energy plant versus:

• filling our fields with garbage, that does more harm than good.
• sending our garbage on boats that sink in the ocean.
• sending our garbage to other countries.

  Great move for the province of Quebec, which wants to go free

  from emission fuels.

Louise Laroche

Mansfield, Quebec

Energy From Waste

Dear Editor,

I attended the recent MRC Pontiac Energy from Waste (EFW) information meeting at Shawville United Church, and was pleased to see public interest in the project.

Everyone in attendance agreed we produce far too much waste, and several suggested reducing our household garbage through composting and education. As chairman of Shawville’s Waste Management Committee, and a member of MRC Pontiac’s Waste Committee, I can assure you we are already working on a county-wide composting program. With public acceptance and usage, a green bin pickup of compostable waste will reduce 40 per cent of the tonnage we now send to Lachute landfill.

An EFW facility will only deal with problematic ‘residual’ waste materials that cannot be recycled or composted, but can be transformed into electricity. Some concerns were expressed regarding the safety and environmental impact of an EFW operation. My experience from working with MRC’s Council of Mayors has shown this group of responsible elected individuals would never support any project that might have a negative impact on our environment.

Currently, eighteen MRC Pontiac municipalities spend 1.7 million dollars annually transporting our garbage to Lachute landfill. Composting and EFW facilities, operating under Quebec’s strict environmental regulations at the Litchfield Industrial site, will substantially reduce those costs to taxpayers.

Richard Armitage

Shawville, Quebec