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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, July 31, 2013 | 6 Halton Region could teach other municipalities a thing or two about recycling old electronics -- so read a small, but noteworthy story in one of our editions last week. The item wasn't on the front page, but is worthy of kudos to both the Region for its leadership in implementing programs and for residents for using the programs. In Halton Region, electronics are not collected with garbage or bulk waste. Unwanted electronics should not go in the land ll. Most of the parts -- steel, glass, copper, aluminum, plastics and precious metals -- can be recycled to make new products. Many retailers take back electronic waste (computers, monitors, TVs, stereos, DVD players, etc.) for recycling. Recycle Your Electronics is an Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) program that ensures materials remain within North America and are safely recycled. The OES has named our Region a top municipal electronic recycler for working with residents to divert electronic waste from the land ll. A total of 483,080 kilograms of unwanted electronics was collected at the Halton Waste Management Site last year. Since 2002, the Region has offered e-waste recycling to residents and teamed up with OES in 2009 to provide them with a free location at its land ll site to drop off their unwanted items. Halton holds free Special Waste Collection Dropoff Days throughout the Region to make the recycling and safe disposal of household hazardous waste and electronic waste more accessible. Halton residents can drop off up to ve electronic items per load, free at the Halton Waste Management Site. Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr said the recognition by the OES, a not-for-pro t organization responsible for delivering reusing and recycling electronics programs, is a re ection of the community's commitment to waste diversion and protecting the environment. "Halton residents are among the best in the province when it comes to participating in recycling and composting programs," said Carr. "Their efforts keep waste out of the land ll and help to extend the life of this very valuable resource four more years -- a savings of $15 million for taxpayers." We couldn't agree more. Halton residents should be proud of their environmental commitment. Added OES Executive Director Jonathan Spencer: "We're very proud of all Ontarians who have participated in municipal e-waste events and utilized drop-off locations. We are especially proud of our top municipalities like Halton Region whose efforts have raised the standard for the entire province. Together, we are helping to create a cleaner environmental future for Ontario." Hear, hear! For more information, visit www. recycleyourelectronics.ca or www.halton.ca/waste. Doing your part to set the trend Editorial "Connected to your Community" Letters to the Editor 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 90 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS This 100-foot-tall ash tree fell victim to the July 19 storm, but the Town acted quickly to clean up the mess. | submitted photo MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager While having a wonderful vacation in Wasaga Beach, the Thorpe family received a call from a family friend, who was watching their house, saying that their 100-foot-tall ash tree had split and fallen onto their driveway in the July 19 storm. Luckily no one was hurt and nothing was damaged. It is unfortunate because it was a very healthy ash tree. It was recently treated and it was the tall- Town acted swiftly on felled ash tree est tree on the street. The Town has done a wonderful job cleaning it up quickly and scheduled to cut it down because the tree will not survive after the damage. We are very thankful that the tree was cleaned up and that no one was hurt. We thought this would be an interesting story to put in the paper as everyone is interested in ash trees in Oakville. Kayley Thorpe, Oakville Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association After reading about the young father leaving his infant child in a hot car while he went shopping, I continued to be amazed by people who lack so-called common sense. I recently joined a local golf club, and over the course of the summer, I'm amazed again at the number of bald senior men I see, who refuse to wear a hat. Maybe they think the sun tan lotion they've applied to their scalp is enough. I don't think so, and this comes from my Common sense not so common experiences as a 47-year, now retired, community pharmacist. I was warned many years ago by my dermatologist, the number of cases of melanoma he saw was increasing, especially with his younger patients. One of my favourite expressions is, `You can be very intelligent, and yet lack common sense.' Evidently, in both my examples, common sense is not so common at all. Chet Maslanka, Oakville Proud Official Media Sponsor For: 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 ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.