ÉEQ Newsletter – Volume 128, April 4, 2017

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APRIL 4, 2017
VOL. 128

Information and reporting
– Reminder: first payment of the 2016 Schedule of Contributions due April 13
– Reminder: preliminary reporting for the 2017 Schedule of Contributions now available online

News and events
– ÉEQ launches its new ecoresponsible packaging campaign
– Americana 2017: Maryse Vermette presents the Innovative Glass Works plan
– New interactive kiosk on ecomaterials made from glass collected through curbside recycling
– Tri-logique awareness program for sound waste management
– Packplay 2: new edition of the three-pronged design experience jointly organized by ÉEQ and École de design de l’UQAM

ÉEQ outreach
– Vecteur Environnement: focus on ecomaterials made from glass collected through curbside recycling
– Resource Recycling: the US magazine takes a look at the Innovative Glass Works plan
– New on OptimEco.ca: the Agropur case study

ÉEQ and its municipal partners
– Successful meetings in the greater Montréal area for the Best Practices Initiatives team

Editorial

In January, I used this platform to announce that 2017 would be a pivotal year for the Innovative Glass Works plan. In the few months since then, we have already made remarkable progress.

In keeping with the timeline that was set out, cutting-edge glass processing equipment was installed in three of the five sorting centres enrolled in ÉEQ’s experimental pilot projects. And in the upcoming weeks, following the Régie intermunicipale de traitement des matières résiduelles de la Gaspésie in Grande-Rivière, the Récupération Frontenac centre in Thetford Mines and the Québec City’s sorting centre, the technology will also be installed in the Tricentris centre in Terrebonne and the EBI Environnement Inc. sorting centre in Saint-Paul-de-Joliette.

While the next 15 months will serve to test operations in different conditions according to a sampling, characterization and performance assessment program, early tests are yielding impressive results. The sorting and cleaning system developed by ÉEQ and its partners using components that, together, constitute a world first, will process glass from curbside recycling to meet the needs of local conditioners and recyclers that will then be able to use it in the production of different ecomaterials. The equipment will be inaugurated in each sorting centre in June.

On another note, I would like to remind you that ÉEQ’s annual general meeting will be held on April 20, in Montréal. The event is an excellent opportunity for the board of directors and executive team to meet with ÉEQ members and discuss the many activities and projects that the organization has undertaken. The meeting will be followed by a conference lunch with two distinguished guests: Mr. Monsieur Stéphane Forget, CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, and our spokesperson Mr. Éric Salvail. Members should receive their invitation in the next few days.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Maryse Vermette, President and Chief Executive Officer

Reminder: first payment of the 2016 Schedule of Contributions due April 13

The deadline to submit your first payment* for your contribution to the 2016 Schedule of Contributions is April 13, 2017. Please note that April 13, 2017, is also the deadline to submit the supporting documents for your application for a credit for recycled content.

Please refer to the following table for further information on the upcoming payments.

*These payments apply to companies that report over 15 tonnes or which did not opt for the flat fee despite their eligibility.
**If the Schedule of Contributions is published before May 31, 2017.

Reminder: preliminary reporting for the 2017 Schedule of Contributions now available online

As of March 1, 2017, businesses can go to the ECO-D portal to file a preliminary report ahead of the release of the 2017 Schedule of Contributions in the Gazette officielle du Québec. More specifically, preliminary reporting serves to record the amounts generated from January 1 to December 31, 2016.

ÉEQ launches its new ecoresponsible packaging campaign

On March 28, ÉEQ officially launched its new multiplatform campaign on ecoresponsible packaging. Starring spokesperson Éric Salvail, the awareness-building plan includes three 15-second television spots that each feature one of the three characteristics of ecoresponsible packaging. A series of online vignettes, the eeqecoresponsible.com microsite intended for the general public and the EcoQuiz—an interactive questionnaire that highlights the myths and realities of ecoresponsible packaging and tests respondents’ knowledge on the topic—round out the initiative.

Americana 2017: Maryse Vermette presents the Innovative Glass Works plan

On March 23, ÉEQ CEO Maryse Vermette was featured at the Americana, Environmental Forum and International Trade Show to present the Innovative Glass Works plan at a session entitled For each material it’s value chain. Her presentation on glass recycling as an innovative and bold homegrown solution provided an overview of the plan’s first year, from the launch of the sorting centre pilot projects to the market studies that confirm the commercial potential of the new ecomaterials. Maryse Vermette also took the opportunity to share her expertise in stakeholder mobilization within the circular economy.

New interactive kiosk on ecomaterials made from glass collected through curbside recycling

On March 21, at the Salon international des technologies environnementales held as part of Americana, ÉEQ unveiled its new interactive kiosk featuring ecomaterials manufactured from the glass that Québecers put in their recycling bins. Stemming from a collaboration with renowned Montréal design firm DIX au carré, the modular kiosk enables visitors to handle the different ecomaterials and discover their many properties and applications.

Tri-logique awareness program for sound waste management

ÉEQ is proud to announce that it has renewed its partnership with Réseau Environnement on the Tri-logique awareness-building program. For a third consecutive year, the program will provide municipalities with simple and effective tools to reach their environmental objectives and raise awareness of sound waste management among citizens. From May 1 to August 4, awareness agents will travel across the province to meet with Québecers and share tips to facilitate the sorting of their everyday waste.

For more information or to register your municipality, go to the Tri-logique Web site at tri-logique.reseau-environnement.com

Packplay 2: new edition of the three-pronged design experience jointly organized by ÉEQ and the École de design de l’UQAM

Do we need more packaging? The second edition of Packplay—a design experience that involves an international design school competition, an educational booklet on packaging ecodesign featuring the projects submitted as part of the competition and an exhibition on the winning projects—raises this very question. Following the signature of an agreement between the École de design de l’UQAM, ÉEQ and the World Design Summit, the Packplay 2 exhibition will be held from October 17 to 20 at Palais des congrès in Montréal, during this major multisectoral conference that attracts participants and speakers from around the world. Click here for more information.

Vecteur Environnement: focus on ecomaterials made from glass collected through curbside recycling

In the latest edition of Vecteur Environnement magazine, materials and market development advisor Pierre Benabidès penned a feature on ecomaterials made from glass collected through curbside recycling, providing a good overview of the technical, economic and environmental performances of the glass taken directly from Québecers’ recycling bins! Click here to read the article (in French).

Resource Recycling: the US magazine takes a look at the Innovative Glass Works program

Trade magazine Resource Recycling published an article by Maryse Vermette, CEO of ÉEQ, on the Innovative Glass Works plan, a local glass recycling solution that has captured the attention of several groups across North America. Click here to read the article.

New on OptimEco.ca: the Agropur case study

The milk bag was already fairly simple and minimalist. But was there a way to reduce its environmental footprint and ensure that the packaging could still contain milk and be easy to use? Agropur and its supplier Hood Packaging took up this very challenge. Their approach is detailed here on OptimEco.ca.

Successful meetings in the greater Montréal area for the Best Practices Initiatives team

Since the start of the year, four workshops were held on the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal to discuss regional realities and best practices in curbside recycling. This major step enabled the Services to municipalities’ team to exchange with some 50 waste managers in the greater Montréal area, which is home to almost 4 million citizens.

Éco Entreprises Québec is on Linkedin and Facebook!

Follow us to learn about the latest packaging optimization ideas, news from our partners and the many initiatives ÉEQ implements to improve curbside recycling.

Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) is the organization that develops the Schedule of Contributions and collects company contributions, which are then redistributed to finance municipal curbside recycling services in Quebec. ÉEQ also encourages innovation and sharing of best practices in order to optimize the recyclable materials value chain. To do so, ÉEQ cooperates, on the one hand, with companies to reduce quantities of materials at the source and encourage the use of recyclable materials, as well as with municipalities to increase recycling and the economic value of recovered materials.

ÉEQ is a private non-profit organization created by companies that put containers, packaging and printed matter on Quebec’s market to represent them. The organization was accredited by RECYC-QUÉBEC in 2005 in accordance with the Environment Quality Act.

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