Every Sunday, La Presse broadcasts the content of Les As de l’info, a digital youth platform entirely dedicated to the daily news.
Posted at 7:00 am
Laurent Côté The aces of information
Camille Lopez Special Collaboration, Les As de l’info
Léonie Rioult Trainee journalist, Les As de l’info
Old toys can be recovered!
Did you know that in Quebec, tons of plastic toys for children are thrown away in the trash every year? But many still work fine or could easily be fixed. Luckily, a local organization is trying to salvage these toys and give them a second life. Let’s enter this amazing universe together!
The birth of a solution
Annie Asselin lives in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, a small town near Quebec. As she walks through her neighborhood one day, she notices that her neighbors’ trash cans contain a variety of toys that are in good condition. She finds it very sad.
That’s when Annie decided to help a few volunteers collect these toys, wash them, fix them, and then resell them for a low price. In this way, it helps reduce waste while saving money!
This is how Réno-Jouets, his organization, was born.
A real impact
Since its inception in 2006, Réno-Jouets has recovered more than a million toys in the province. That would be enough to fill your space from floor to ceiling multiple times! Thanks to the organization, thousands of children enjoyed remanufactured toys.
However, not all toys that Réno-Jouets collects can be reused. Some are broken or too worn. But what to do with these?
Recycling, not so easy!
You might think that since these are plastic toys, they could just be recycled. But it’s more complicated than that.
Because most children’s toys consist of several parts, which often consist of different plastics. The problem is that all these plastics have to be recycled separately. It is not impossible, but it is very difficult and very expensive to sort plants. Therefore, unfortunately, the most profitable option is to throw them in the trash.
For this reason, this moment must be delayed as much as possible, especially through the repair and reuse of used toys!
Crossing Quebec soon?
In January, France implemented an action plan to recycle non-repairable toys, even if they are expensive. Their goal is for at least one in three non-repairable toys to be recycled by 2024.
And such an action plan could reach as far as Quebec! Recycling programs already exist for certain toys, such as video game consoles or toys that use batteries. However, there is still work to be done to convince recycling companies to recycle all plastic toys.
Based on an article by Clémence Delfils, special collaboration
Why are the children’s faces blurred in the photos of the Laval tragedy?
PHOTO PATRICK SANSFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Children’s faces in photos of the Laval tragedy are blurred to protect them and respect the law.
Images of the tragedy at a day care center in Laval are circulating on the internet. You may have noticed that in some photos the faces of the children in the day care center are covered or out of focus. In fact, you may have noticed that the media often does not reveal their identity when it comes to minors, i.e. people under the age of 18.
We thought it was important to explain why, as your rights are at stake.
Who has the right to publish a photo of you?
In principle, nobody is authorized to distribute a photo of you without your consent or that of your parents.
A journalist, a teacher or even a friend can therefore not publish a photo in which you can be recognized without permission. And that applies to newspapers and media websites (like Info Aces!), but also to social networks.
For example, in the case of the media, if a journalist or photographer does not obtain permission for publication from the people in a photograph, their faces will be blurred to prevent the public from recognizing and identifying them.
For what ? Because if someone finds a photo posted without their permission embarrassing or makes them look bad, the person or media who posted it could be sued.
There are a few exceptions. For example, if we are in front of an important monument, we can expect to appear in the photo of a tourist photographing it!
The Rules of Journalists
Each medium follows its own set of rules (called codes of conduct or codes of ethics) and journalists working there must respect them. In Quebec, many media outlets agree not to publish information that allows the identification of children and young people unless it is really important and they have parental permission.
If the law requires it!
These rules are even stricter when a crime has been committed. Canadian law almost always prohibits us from releasing the identities of victims, witnesses and even suspects under the age of 18. This includes names, photos, but also any information that would identify them (e.g. nickname, school, address, etc.).
The Am Alert exceptioncalculated
After reading all of these rules, you may be wondering why the media publishes a child’s picture and description when they are kidnapped.
Police send out an AMBER alert when they want to put the odds on their side to find a child. The media therefore has the right to publish his identity. However, once the warning is over, they must delete this information.
You now know why the photos of the children at the Laval daycare center get mixed up in some of the articles you read. It’s about respecting the law and protecting them too.
A 9-year-old girl to save nature!
PHOTO ANDREW HURLEY, YALE UNIVERSITY
Bobbi Wilson and her collection of caught spotted sunflowers
Last summer, Bobbi Wilson, a 9-year-old girl, had an amazing adventure. While she simply wanted to serve her community, she ended up being honored by a renowned museum! Are you interested ? Read on to find out more!
assignment : Clean up!
Do you know the spotted Fulgores? These are insects native to Asia and found in the United States, but also in Canada. These colorful creatures of about eight inches are unfortunately dangerous for fruits and trees. If you see any, call the Canadian Food Inspection Agency immediately!
PHOTO MATT ROURKE, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE
Spotted fireflies are insects native to Asia that are dangerous to fruit and trees.
But back to Bobbi. The girl lives in northern New Jersey, USA. Late last summer, his neighborhood was infested with these critters. No wonder: this is the time of year when the insect lays the most eggs.
Using a dish soap, apple cider vinegar, and water recipe found on TikTok, Bobbi decided to take care of the problem himself.
The neighbors join in!
In 3 months, Bobbi managed to recover 27 Spotted Fulgores! She was very happy to be able to help her neighborhood by ridding them of these harmful insects.
Everything was going well… until one of the neighbors called the police about him. The neighbor complained that a little black girl was running around spraying the sidewalks and trees with an unknown compound.
The police came to question the young girl, but luckily there was no further pursuit and the neighbor apologized to Bobbi’s mother. However, the latter said she was afraid for her daughter. In her opinion, the story could have ended very badly if Bobbi had encountered a racist police officer.
All’s well that ends well !
After her episode with the police, Bobbi was contacted by Yale University, a large American university. The establishment had heard the story of the young New Jersey girl who dedicated months of her life to protecting her neighborhood’s wildlife from dangerous insects.
Touched by Bobbi’s determination, the school made her a great offer: retrieve her collection of trapped insects to display at the university’s Natural History Museum. And she agreed!
On January 20, Yale University held a ceremony to install Bobbi’s collection. She will now be one of the scientists in the museum!
News
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