That’s how Google Translate renders “Ça va où?” Which is a shame, because that’s the name of a cute little app offered by Recyc-Québec (Quebec society for recycling, get it?).
And we dyed-in-the-wool English speakers may not grasp the idea that the app tells us which products go in which bin for recycling, garbage, or compost, rather than telling us to climb in ourselves. Hmm.
But the Ça va où? app is so handy, the little recycling symbol sitting there on my smart phone. How do I dispose of «Allumettes en bois (brulées)? It tells me «Ça va dans la poubelle.» But nowhere does the app say that used wooden matches go in the trashcan. In brief, they are not recyclable.
So, if you know French, you have a good chance of putting it in the correct receptacle. Alert: Have we not heard about tons of Canadian recycling being returned to us by the Philippines and Malaysia, because the recyclable products were so contaminated by garbage or composting?
It’s so important that all citizens and visitors to Quebec get with the program. Look, if Revenu Québec is able to render their complicated tax forms and website into English, couldn’t Recyc-Québec put a little effort in this direction?
But I digress. Let’s visit www.recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca. It offers lots of valuable user-friendly information. Really. In the upper righthand corner of the site is a bright blue rectangle saying “Je veux me départir d’un produit… Ça va où?” (Meaning “I want to get rid of a product… Where does it go?”)
Click on the rectangle and it takes you to a field saying “Où êtes-vous?” Select the name of your municipality, and it opens the Ça va où? tool itself. You can enter the name of the item you want to query, or select it from an alphabetical list, in French of course. Or you can scroll down to a really big blue rectangle, which permits you to download the app to your smartphone.
Which I did, at the suggestion of Louis Longchamps, the communications guru at our very own Valoris.
And that’s how I came to ask “Ça va òu?” about a little ubiquitous something: credit cards. I used to dispose of old cards by cutting them up and putting the pieces in the recycling bin. They’re plastic, right? But are they recyclable?
Oops. Credit cards are not on the “Ça va où?” list of products. So I clicked on the little “plus” sign, permitting me to send my inquiry by email to the Recyc-Québec mother ship. And then a few days later I received my response: You can’t recycle credit cards because they are comprised of several different kind of plastics.
For shame. I think I’ll just cut my cards up and mail them back to the credit card company!
TERRY HOWELL IN BURY, 14th
Terry Howell and Friends at the Bury United Cultural Center, 560 Main St., Bury, on Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m., featuring French- and English-speaking musicians with country, gospel, bluegrass and musique country. Proceeds will help install electric heaters in the McKenzie Chapel. Entrance: Free will donation. Info: Margaret James, 819-884-5563.
ATELIER AUCKLAND, 15th
Atelier Auckland offers the Stammtisch de juin with invitees Mélanie Noël and Vanessa Courville, on the theme of art, art de la table, et l’art de vivre le temps d’un festin, on Saturday, June 15. Reservations required. Info: https://atelierauckland.com/
CARDS IN BURY, 18th
At the Bury United Cultural Center, 560 Main St., Bury, Military Whist is on Tuesday, June 18, at 2 p.m. Lunch and prizes. Info: Serena Wintle, 819-875-5210.
MORTON ROSENGARTEN, 22nd+
A new exhibit is coming to the Cookshire-Eaton art gallery: The Portrait, A Forgotten Art: Drawings and sculptures by Morton Rosengarten. The vernissage is Saturday, June 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. Rosengarten lives and works in Way’s Mills, but has a long and distinguised career as an artist. His works include life drawings, bronze casts and stone carvings. He’s also known as a life-long friend of Leonard Cohen, whose poem “Hommage to Rosengarten” appears on Rosengarten’s website, http://rosengarten.ca.
The exhibit continues to September 2. The Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery at 25 Principale West is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
VALORIS WORKSHOP, 27th
The next Valoris workshop is on the topic of air quality, including traffic and noise. This is part of the public information series in the context of the “social acceptability process” for the proposed expansion of the technical landfill at Valoris. When: June 27 from 8:45 a.m. to noon. Where: École du Parchemin (Salle des commissaires), 162 Saint-Jean Ave., East Angus. To register, call 819-560-8403, email communication-valoris@hsfqc.ca, or online at letvaloris.com.
CANADA DAY IN BURY, 29th
Canada Day celebrations in Bury are on Friday, June 29.
SUMMER JOB IN IN BURY
The Bury Historical and Heritage Society is looking for a summer employee for 8 weeks, June 17 to August 9.
The employee will help organize summer heritage activities, help with the restoration work of the Canterbury Church, and participate in the research and archiving of documents, information and artifacts under the supervision of board members. Needed: a college diploma or degree in progress, and use of a car. Bilingualism is an asset. Info: Contact Céline Martineau, damechevre@hotmail.com.
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. The June 16th Sunday worship service is at 10:30 a.m. in Bury; July 23rd at 10:30 a.m. in Cookshire at St. Peter’s Church. No local services are on June 30, but one is at 11 a.m. at the St. George’s Church in Lennoxville. Info: 819-887-6802.
United. Sunday worship services are in Cookshire at 9:30 a.m. and in Sawyerville at 11 a.m. Info: 819-889-2838 (listen to message).
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@yahoo.com by June 24 for publication July 3 and by July 15 for August 7.