A8 - Sunday, May 16, 1982 - North Shore News SER vn cai bo co x ERR Colored garbage bags have closed his mind Dear Editor: According to the Province (May 5, 1982), Alan Emmot, the chairman of the GVRD., declared that the only difference between North America and Europe in disposing of garbage is that. “They wrap theirs more colorfully in a_ whole spectrum of plastic bags.” I find that statement in- credible. I was also a member of that eight man delegation that visited Western Europe for two weeks in April to gather information on modern garbage disposal systems. We visited incinerators, recycling plants, landfill sites, composting _ plants, separation plants, a_ glass reconditioning plant, biological and = chemical leachate treatment facilities and more. It was an educational expenence and we picked up a good deal of information that should be helpful in finding solutions to our own garbage disposal problems in the Lower Mainland. What kind of GVRD blinkers was Emmot wearing that he didn’t see the things the rest of us saw? I found, for example, that the whole technology of waste disposal in England. Holland and West Germany is much more advanced than here. Their environmental standards are higher too. Incinerators and recycling plants are widely used. The benefits include recycled products, heat, electricity and environmental cleanliness. They conunue to use landfill sites, too, but these are carefully controlled. In Health care is for PEOPLE Dear Editor: Judging from his May 9 letter-to-the-editor, MLA Jack Davis needs to be reminded of a few facts. First, he is wrong in implying that this province spends more on health care penditures going to pay for salanes and wages. But he forgets that health care is a matter of people receiving care from people. It is a hands-on affair that cannot be mechanized, no more than the provincial many cases househoid and industrial waste are separated. They use leachate treatment facilities on site. Ingenious methods have been developed to anchor the landfills to prevent them from wandering and to release the methane gas. which will eventually destroy surface vegetation if not allowed to escape. In some cases this methane gas ts collected and used as fuel. Leachate is not allowed into their sewer systems (as we do here). Industrial garbage 1S treated chemically. The tmp convinced me that we must take a new look at all four methods of waste control - landfill, in- cineration, recycling and composting. If we continue to use the Premier Street Landfill site even for the time being, or if a new site ts selected by the GVRD, we absolutely must establish leachate treatment facilities ON SITE. The practice of pouring leachate into our sewer system should be ended. Household and in- dustnal garbage must be separated. Long term plans for waste disposal in the Lower Mainland should include incinerator and recycling plants (including com- posting), built on a cost- sharing basis with the provincial government. B.C. needs a site for the disposal of hazardous and, dangerous chemicals and apparently the provincial government its, at long last, looking into this. The only kind of land that should be used for landfill sites is land that has to be restored before it can be used. These are a few of the conclusions |] have drawn from my tnp. It seems to me that, if Alan Emmott saw only coloured plasuc bags, he went there with a closed mind. None are so blind as those who will not see. Ernie Crist Alderman District of North Vancouver Become a Friend of B.C’s Children's Hospital. Please write to us at - 250 West 59th Avenue Vancouver, B.C. than other jurisdictions. British Columbia spends 6 per cent of gross provincial product on health, com- pared to 7 per cent for Canada as a whole and 9 per cent for the United States. Second, it should be noted that Mr. Davis’ salary went up by 17.3 per cent in 1981. Obviously, it's easy for him to say health workers should agree to a “levelling off in their salanes and wages”. No one delivering health care government can pass a law preventing people from becoming ill. For his sake. | hope that Mr. Davis doesn't need to wail for hospital care this year, as hundreds of others will because of his govern- ment’s funding policies. The provincial govern- ment’s arbitrary move to limit its health spending to a 6.3 per cent increase is short-sighted - just as Mr. Davis’ comments are. got an increase to compare _ Jerry Miller. with his last year. Communications Mr. Davis is nght about 80 Coordinator, per cent of hospital ex- B.C. Nurses Union Fun _ from the p-down. 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