Garbage words

In his cover story on trash ["The terrors of trash," September 30], I feel Philip Preville has put words in my mouth. Based on what I said, he concluded that the new regulations were the initiative of a handful of bureaucrats and were not based on any comprehensive study.

Does Mr. Preville really believe that we bureaucrats can dictate policy to Mayor Bourque or to Executive Committee member Noushig Eloyan? If so, I've got news for him! The words I actually said, which most closely resemble Mr. Preville's sweeping generalizations, were as follows:

For the last three years, professionals from the city's Public Works and Environment department have been working to adapt regulations which are more than 30 years old. The old regulations only dealt with the "removal of garbage and other objects" essentially destined for landfill. But since 1989, the city's approach to garbage has been modified to take into account different types of household wastes, including recyclables (35%), compostables (35%), re-usables (15%), old clothing items (5%) and dangerous wastes (1%). Actual "garbage" accounts for only 10% of household waste.

While a bureaucrat provided this information, that doesn't make the new regulations a bureaucratic pet project. And as for the minimum allowable size for garbage bags, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that, with 535,000 homes in Montreal, 500,000 larger bags have far less chance of falling apart or being ripped open than a million small grocery bags. And as for having to buy garbage bags, many bags from Canadian Tire, the Bay, Bureau en Gros, Ikea, RONA and so on are large enough to be re-used as garbage bags.

I hope Mirror readers will keep in mind that waste management is an important issue and that, from now on, if Montrealers don't do their part out of civility and concern, they'll have to do it under threat of punishment. The most important thing, in the end, is a cleaner city without a twice-weekly spectacle of accumulated detritus.

Bureaucratically yours,

--Jacques Tremblay, Communications officer Montreal Public Works and Environment Department

Stiff Brits

British Canada? What kind of stiff would want to join the Coalition for a Humanistic British Canada ["My Canada includes Upstairs Downstairs," Oct. 14]? Over the past few decades, Canadians have been taking steps towards becoming a real country (taking the Queen's head off all our currency would be a big one), and now there's a gang of tight-assed bastards trying to force us to live "sophisticated" like the Brits? Kiss my big Canadian ass!

I, like most Canadians, enjoy waking up and choosing my wardrobe for the day. These Brit wannabes should take their dress codes and other policies to Britain where they belong. If we do start a coalition of this nature it should be the "Coalition for a Humanistic Canadian Canada." Stiffs go home!

--Dave Pownall, Chateauguay

Please trim the fat!

I was recently trying to lose weight--about 40 pounds to be exact (and I know this because I weighed myself). On the underside of my large, protruding belly is a rather ugly birthmark, which my doctor has not removed. It won't kill me, apparently.

John C. Underwood's letter ["Fishing for separation," Oct. 21] reminds me of my excess fat, my ugly birthmark and how disappointed I get when I think I can rid myself of things in this world which annoy me, particularly people who write stupid analogies but end up getting their letters published anyway.

It's time for the editors of the Mirror to separate interesting letters from those which cause brain cells to wither and die and lead to a reader's ultimate demise: self-inflicted blindness to prevent oneself from reading more crap like that in the future.

--Marty Selana

Farley forgotten

I just finished reading your list of the most influential people and places of the decade [Nightlife 99, Oct. 21] and was shocked to discover that you neglected to mention one of the pillars of Montreal's house scene: Christian Farley. I think this oversight is a shame.

--Anonymous

Correction

The photo of Obscure Disorder ["Missing in action"] in the Oct. 28 issue should have been attributed to Willo.