*-. packets. 18 - Friday, October 4, 1991-— North Shore News Are we not civilized? iF EVER you are wondering why the wheels of change turn slowly, attend a public forum. Any public forum. Certainly, i’m all for democrat- ic decision-making and the max- imization of public input on gov- ernment issues. But public forums remind us what a diverse bunch cf people we are, and how difficult it is to arrive at any decision that will satisfy any significant number of us. Tuesday night, the GVRD held a forum on revising the region’s Solid Waste Management Plan to reflect the 50% waste reduction goal by the year 2000. The turnout to the event, which was held in North Van’s Silver Harbour Centre, was not great. No more than 30 people were in the room, including the GVRD representatives and speakers. And yet, even given the low numbers and the fact that we are all supposedly environmentally concerned citizens working © towards a2 common goal, points of disagreement were as common as those areas in which we found common ground. For example, I didn’t think anyone would argue with West- Van’s Ada Brown of the Cana- dian Consumer Association, or Rv 4 Lotzkar of the Environmen- tally Sound Packaging Coalition. These two women gave a brief “~2 presentation and emphasized that packaging, which makes up 50% “-by-volume of our residential solid waste, must become standardized, - reusable, use fewer materials and be more compact. They. showed examples of amaz- ingly: awful -packaging, such 4s a . .single-serving plastic pancake mix, to:.which: you add water, shake “and pour. out your pancake batter. -* ”" There'was ‘also an iced tea drink ‘powder that was soid in a multi- - material,’ “non-recyclable cylinder -. that didn't just contain the drink “powder,:.it contained the drink ‘powder in -.“handy’’ separate, ‘single-serving;: pre-measured ‘However, “North (Vancouver "District: Ald. Emnie Crist livened : UP. the Proceedings when he ' gave Peggy Trendeli-Whittaker ECOINFO his views on packaging. -“] like packaging,’’ he stated. “J think it’s a sign of civilization. I like the whole concept. ‘‘What I hear tonight is that we should go back to pre-civilization where we handicd foed with our bare hands, and quite frankly, I’m not prepared to do that... From where I stand, 1 think packaging is @ great thing and I’m not prepared to do away with it.”” Crist noted that while he agreed pciicging should be recyclable, he ‘disagreed with refillable beverage bottles, such as milk and pop bot-° tles, because he ‘‘doesn’t trust the industry’? to get them con- taminant-free, When told about Germany’s moves to expand their refillable bottie industry, he said “I don’t believe it..I can’t see the Germans taking a chance with their health.”’ Sparks also flew ever the con- stantly smoldering backyard burn- ingissue. - While Karen Patrick called for a ban on backyard burning on behalf of the Worldwide Home Environmentaiists’ Network (WHEN), West Van _ resident Sonia Fynn challenged her to pro- vide information on an alternate Mask show featured — “THIS - YEAR the. Brackendale ‘Gallery’s~ second asnual mask “show focuses on the importance of fhe story: or- myth behind the mask..- ‘The ‘Oct. .6" show’ features. the - J work .of over:20 B.C. artists. The “gnasks -: Tepresent - the " artists’ “ynulti-ethnic “backgrounds ranging . from-the traditional. First Nation Style to contemporary urban rep- _Fesentations. |x CLOSES SUNDAY x A:- performance benefit for the Voices of the Earth Foundation will take place opening night. North Shore artists such as Chief: Leonard George and Metropolis Dance director Christine Elsey will . be featured. “™ The “performance includes storytelling, dance, song and music. it begins at 7 p.m. The price of admission will also go to support the Rrackendale Gallery. means of disposing of substantial yard waste that is non-com- p stable. Since West Vancouver has restricted outdoor burning, Fynn said her solid waste output has gone up because she has had to somehow dispose of the branches she once burned. And while WHEN also called for a ban on disposable ciapers, except by prescription, focal mother of two Danusia_ Ball pleaded with the GVRD to dis- count that idea. She did, however, have an in- novative alternative. She herself has removed the silica gel packing from inside a used disposable, washed it and dried jt out in the sun to see if it would shrink back down to regain its absorbency. As her experiment seemed to be successful, she wonders if the lin- ing of disposable diapers could consist of a washable package of silica gel in a cotton cover. The North Shore Recycling Program also came under fire for failing to provide residents with facilities to recycle mixed paper and a wider array of plastics. Municipal recycling coordinator Al Lynch argued that it would not be wise to collect items for which there is no stable market. Not only is no one paying for mixed paper, he said, Paperboard Industries has stopped accepting it from the public and Jaternational Paper Industries in Surrey is actu- ally charging people who take it there. Adding mixed paper to the local blue box collection under current conditions would double the price of the North Shore’s recycling program, from $1 million to $2 million annually. The program is, however, ac- tively working to establish a staff- ed drop-off depot on the North Shore that would accept materials not acceptable in the blue boxes. What the GVRD will be able to glean fromthe Stage I public hearings of its three-part Solid Waste Management Plan review remains to be seen. It may ve harder than it sounds to reach a consensus on these im- portant issues, but as six of our eight regiona) landfills . reached capacity and were closed over the last decade, and with the Port Mann landfill due to close ia *94, it is obviously vital that we do so. A rational program te encourage giving and salunieering, NORTH SHORE MUSEUM Presentation House THE VERSATILE DILEMMA A look at some history, some questions and possible solutions in light of the closing of the shipyard. 333 Chesterfield Avenue North Vancouver Wednesday to Saturday 1-4pm Sunday 1-5pm No admission charge. presents A Special opportunity for you and your Volkswagen Fali Check-Up . 50 at a special P ice is on the way. . Let us get your Volkswagen ready now. (ADDITIONAL $10 ON SOME MODELS) We are pleased to provide you with the following opportunities for your Voikswagen. For an appointment that is convenient to us both, please cail 922-0168. 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