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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 20, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian An idea worth recycling Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest, and that could very well be true of the provincial government's plan to recycle bottles purchased at LCBO outlets. While his plan was short on vital details, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced last Sunday that, beginning in February, deposits will be charged on alcohol containers bought at the LCBO. The bottles would then have to be returned to beer stores. Under the plan, 80 million LCBO bottles that currently end up in landfills would be recycled. According to Ontario environmental commissioner Gord Miller, only 20 per cent of LCBO bottles are recycled because many bottles break in the recycling process, mixing coloured and clear glass and therefore making the glass unusable for recycling. No bottles are refilled. The new plan, however, would see consumers return LCBO bottles to Beer Stores for a refund (an amount McGuinty failed to reveal as well as how much extra consumers will have to pay) while Beer Store staff will sort the bottles. Earlier this summer the Association of Municipalities of Ontario urged the province to impose a deposit-return system on bottles because of the high cost for municipalities to run their Blue Box systems. Currently, Ontario and Manitoba are the only provinces without extensive bottle-return systems. The Beer Store has an impressive 98 per cent recovery rate for returnable bottles and a 90 per cent rate for aluminum cans. One can't help but wonder if Beer Stores can do so well at bottle returns, why can't the LCBO? As every municipality in Ontario struggles to try and cope with over-burdened landfills and find ways to deal with ever-increasing waste, it is imperative that everyone try to be part of the solution. That includes the LCBO. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Returning soldier grateful for story Re: A soldier's safe return, Oakville Beaver, Friday, Sept. 15 To Oakville Beaver reporter Kristie Rutherford: As a serving PPCLI soldier, an Oakville native and a member of Oakville's small military community, I want to thank you for the excellent piece you wrote on Private Charlie Long, PPCLI. You gave the people of our town a human face to put to their soldiers. You pointed out both the dangers that soldiers face, and the pride we feel in our regiment and our service to Canada. I am very proud to serve in the same regiment as this young soldier, and I hope our fellow citizens are proud of him as well. Having done a tour in Afghanistan myself, I share the belief that we can make a real difference by standing up to evil there. As professional soldiers, we know full well that there is no purely military solution in Afghanistan; we also know that without security and strong resolve, there is no solution at all. DAVID J. BANKS Every penny helps Here is an excerpt from a letter by an Acton resident donor to the `Save the Tree' Fund: "As I was discussing the Save the Tree campaign with my six-year-old granddaughter, Anna, she listened intently and then said, `I want to help too, Papa.' She went to her piggy bank, removed a loonie and two quarters and handed them to me, which I have included." Touched by Anna's simple act of compassion for a tree, a thank-you letter and the Tree's Story were quickly mailed to her. White T-shirts with the tree logo as well as mugs with an oak leaf design and story should be available at a reasonable price through Hopedale Zellers or members of the fundraising committee. JOYCE BURNELL Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Chicks earn praise On behalf of all breast cancer survivors/sufferers, I would like to extend sincere thanks to Julia Hanna and the 'Chicks out Walking' for doing such a tremendous job on raising so much money for Princess Margaret's Hospital Research Foundation. These generous people, who give so much of themselves in time and effort, should know how much they are appreciated. Thank you 'girls' JOAN DAVIS