I’ve heard that the need for lawyers is a disgrace to humanity, that we cannot resolve our disputes non-adversarially.

Another disgrace to humanity is our garbage landfills, albeit engineered. How different from my childhood, when we burned our little weekly pile of trash, and composted the ashes along with our organic matter. My mother reused paper bags with a ferver fired by the Depression. Now we discard far more than we reuse, and we damn ourselves and others to living amidst our waste.

How can we blame Valoris for expanding our landfill, when it’s our garbage that fills it?
And so she is in the office of Louis Longchamps, director of communications at Valoris, with her bag full of questionable garbage. “Is it recyclable?” she asks about a plastic Powerade bottle. Longchamps points to the miniscule “recycle” triangle cleverly disguised on the bottle’s ribbed bottom. So yes, it is.

At home, she employs a magnifying glass to read the tiny number inside the triangle. It’s a 1, which Google says signifies the most frequently recycled plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE). PETE is also found in plastic bottles containing peanut butter, soda, water and salad dressing, microwavable food trays, and clamshell trays containing cookies.
(Never fear. Longchamps says the Valoris sorting system doesn’t depend on human eyesight to read the tiny numbers; seeing-eye sensors discern the different types of materials.)
PETE plastic is unsafe to reuse for drinking, because heat and soap cause it to break down, resulting in harmful chemicals leeching into the liquids you drink. So if you’re not using them as a flower-garden border or storage containers for your screws, the Gaterade bottles go into the recycling bin.

It’s better to take off the lid first, and rinse out the bottle with water, Longchamps said. “If you have, say, a can of beans, and it’s not washed out, it’s going to be rejected in the line, and it’s going to end up in the landfill.” But the clamshell cookie container’s paper label gets burned off in the recycling process, so no worries about it.
Next item: a milk carton of wax-coated paper with a plastic spout. Yes, a recycle triangle is visible, and even a website address: how2recycle.info.
“What should be done is this,” he said, tearing open the top and ripping out the plastic spout and cap. Both the plastic and the cardboard are recyclable, but separating them makes sure the container won’t be rejected.

“The biggest enemy to recycling is when you have an item that is made out of a lot of things,” said Longchamps.
That, and the sheer volume of plastics we have to deal with. “For shame!” she cried. “It’s a disgrace to humanity.”

VALORIS PRESENTATION
Curious about the information session of April 6th workshop on water quality? Check out www.letvaloris.com to view the presentation.

AIR WORKSHOP, 27th
The next workshop at Valoris is about air quality (odors, greenhouse gases or GES) and circulation (cleanliness, security) in relation to the landfill enlargement project, and is on Saturday morning, April 27. Pre-registration is required at www.letvaloris.com/contact-us, info@valoris-estrie.com, or 819-560-8403.

CARD PARTIES, 25th+
The Spring 500 Card Parties are at 1:30 p.m. Thursdays, April 25, May 9 and May 23, at the Bulwer Community Centre, 254 Jordan Hill Road, Bulwer. Cost of cards and lunch: $6.

SPAGHETTI SUPPER, 27th
The Sawyerville Elementary School Spaghetti Supper fundraiser will be April 27, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the St-Rosaire Catholic Church, 4 Randboro Road, Sawyerville. Vegetarian options are available. All proceeds go toward school activities. Adults: $10. Children aged 6 to 12: $5. Aged 5 and under: Free.

FLEA MARKET, 27th
The Bury Women’s Institute’s Flea Market/Craft Sale is April 27, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bury Armoury Community Center. Table rental is $10: Contact Irma Chapman (819-873-3600) or Frances Goodwin (819-872-3318).

RURART & DANCE, 3rd
Heads up for a celebration of springtime and movement at Amélie Lemay-Choquette’s RURART, situated at La Généreuse farm, 540 Labonté, Cookshire-Eaton. It’s May 3 and 4, in partnership with ICI Danse. More news next issue, or contact www.rurart.ca, info@rurart.ca, 819-342-9348.

YOGA IN SAWYERVILLE
Myrna MacDonald has just begun the spring session of yoga, continuing until May 28, on Tuesdays at 10 a.m,, at the Sawyerville Community Centre, 6 Church St. INFO: 819-875-5393 or myrnamac44@gmail.com.

YOGA IN NEWPORT, 6th. An 8-week yoga session, Mondays at 3 to 4 p.m., begins on May 6 and ends June 24 at the Municipal Hall, 1452 Route 212 in Island Brook. The teacher, Vanessa Salvatore, is trained in a number of yoga styles and offers a course that encourages students to relax, release tension, improve mobility, and regain energy and well-being. INFO: 819-875-1767 or vanessa.salvatore@gmail.com

VIACTIVE DEACTIVATES
The bilingual Viactive exercise groups are winding down for the summer. The group in Island Brook ends April 17, and in Cookshire, May 15.

CHURCH SERVICES
Baptist. In Sawyerville, the Sunday worship service is at 9 a.m. in French, and 11 a.m. in English. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. in English and French. Info: 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m. in Bury, and at 11 a.m. in Cookshire at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church.
United. Easter week services: Maundy Thursday is April 18, at 5 p.m. in Sawyerville, with a potluck supper. Good Friday is April 19, at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity United in Cookshire. Easter Sunday Sunrise is April 21, at 5:51 a.m. (please arrive earlier) at the Gazebo on Route 210, Eaton Corner, followed by a potluck breakfast at Sawyerville United. Lastly, Easter Sunday service with Holy Communion is April 21, at 10:30 a.m., at Trinity United in Cookshire. April 28th services: Cookshire 9:30 a.m.; Sawyerville 11 a.m. Info: 819-889-2838 (listen to message).

Messy Church. On Monday, April 29, at 5:30 p.m., a story, crafts, worship and home-cooked supper are at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 550 Main St., Bury. A joint United and Anglican intergenerational event, with a free-will offering. All are welcome. Info: Rev. Tami Spires, 819-452-3685.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@yahoo.com by April 22 for publication May 1st, and by May 6 for May 15.