The reclycling bin revolution proceeds at high speed

It involves the last turn towards the objective of recovering 60% of all recyclable material. This second generation of the blue bin revolution will allow Laval residents to reach the target set by the Quebec Management Policy on residual materials, city hall believes.

In theory, the municipality has until August of 2009 to reach the target of 60%, but there is optimism in the mayor’s office that the goal will be attained by the end of 2008, in line with the Quebec policy.

The new recycling offensive will concentrate on residential sectors, municipal buildings, and school boards, with these latter getting the new bins before the opening of classes in August. Commercial and industrial establishments are excluded from this phase of the initiative.

The government recommends a global (all waste) recovery rate of 80% for this sector. Province-wide it stood at only 49% in 2006, according to Recyc-Quebec.

“It’s an opening that must be penetrated,” admits Guy Courchesne, director of the city’s Environment Department. But “this will not be accomplished by 2008.” A pilot project will eventually be initiated to assess the quantities to deal with, he says.

Buildings of eight units or more involve a new clientele; there will be one recycling bin for everyone in the building,” Mr. Courchesne explains. “With an annual information and sensitization push, we should reach the target,” he specifies.

As well, the new 240-litre bins (for single-family dwellings), and 360-litre ones (for multi-family units) will allow for the recovery of more materials. The potential is for four to six times the previous amounts now being collected from the smaller (64-litre) bins.

In fact, the expectations are more modest. “The conversion to rolling (wheeled) bins elsewhere (in the province) has generated an increase of 50%,” Mr. Courchesne points out. “We’ll only be in a position to assess the success attained in Laval in 2009,” he adds.

But while waiting, there is a need to move into action.

With an eye towards efficiency, the first stage of the delivery will provide one bin per household. “We’ll lend an ear to citizens’ complaints in due time. The idea is to bring about a quick implementation of the new bins,” which according to Mr. Courchesne should be completed by the end of May. “After that, we’ll look at requests and make adjustments. It’s a year of transition and adaptation. We’ll evaluate the impact of the new approach (along the way).”

The collection will be undertaken by Enterprise F.A. ltee, using a mechanical arm. This way of collecting the materials implies that the recyclables will be thrown into the truck in random fashion.

“Before, we used to put paper and cardboard on one side and all other stuff on the other. The separation used to take place at the truck,” noted Mr. Courchesne. The loads picked up by the trucks will now be separated at the treatment centre operated by the Groupe Tiru, at the former Miron quarry dump site.

From a practical point of view, residents will have to place the bins as close to the road as possible, with the wheels facing the house. Of note, any material not placed in the bins (such as on the sides of the container) will not be picked up.