In January 2021, Loto-Québec became the first lottery company in the world to print a scratch ticket on 100% recycled and recyclable paper.
In 2024, to celebrate Earth Day and further promote its green initiatives, including letting customers know that all its scratch tickets are recyclable, Loto-Québec launched Le billet vert, which is made from 100% recycled fiber. The launch featured a partnership with RECYC-QUÉBEC and its Ça va où? application, which provides consumers with a wealth of information to help them sort and recycle more efficiently.
From a technical point of view, it was ambitious and revolutionary in 2021 to go ahead with such a printing project. The Corporation and its printer succeeded, and it took several years of testing to achieve a lottery ticket printed on 100% recycled paper that is secure.
Because the lottery must be designed in such a way that it is impossible to know in advance whether a participant is a winner or not, the medium used must be extremely stable so that the ink level remains the same from one ticket to the next. Working with fully recycled paper posed a challenge, as it is less stable than virgin paper. Our technical challenge was to produce a lottery ticket that passed all security tests, while ensuring product traceability and numbering throughout the on-press process, right through to booklet finishing.
The production process of Le billet vert went smoothly, making it the 13th scratch ticket to be printed on 100% recycled paper since 2021.
The Le billet vert scratch ticket is printed on 100% recycled paper produced in Quebec by Rolland (Sustana). By working in collaboration with a local paper mill, which supplies the recycled fiber on which the ticket is printed, we are contributing to the circular economy.
In addition, the inks used by printer Scientific Games for the Le billet vert are water-based. This type of ink is associated with very low emissions of environmentally harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), compared with the solvent-based inks often used in industry. The printer also uses VOC-free solid UV and EB inks to print other tickets.
Loto-Québec and its partners have made every effort to reduce the ecological footprint of Le billet vert. In April 2024, we shone at the Gutenberg Gala, which recognizes excellence in Quebec's print industry and celebrates the talent, creativity and know-how of its artisans. We won the GutenVERT trophy for Le billet vert.
What's more, while the ticket was on sale, our customers were able to enhance their recycling knowledge by downloading RECYC-QUÉBEC's Ça va où? application.