Print Share

Partnerships with Éco Entreprises Québec: A New Era for Curbside Recycling Soon Underway in the Laurentians

Montréal, February 27, 2024 – Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) is proud to announce its partnerships signed in the Laurentians. In accordance with the extended producer responsibility (EPR) principle, ÉEQ is responsible for planning, supervising and financing the curbside recycling system. Over the past few weeks, the Pays-d’en-Haut Regional County Municipality (RCM), the Régie de collecte environnementale de la Rouge and the Régie intermunicipale des déchets de la Lièvre have signed agreements, thus formalizing the role of ÉEQ in the management of recyclable materials in the Laurentians.

The excellent collaboration of the elected officials in the region will ensure the optimization of the curbside recycling ecosystem by introducing streamlined operations and improving logistical efficiency, while maintaining a citizen-centered approach.

In addition, the implementation of EPR by ÉEQ will enable all citizens to recover the same materials in the blue bin, wherever they are in Quebec. As the producer responsibility organization (PRO) for curbside recycling, ÉEQ will now be accountable for the system’s performance across Quebec.

For ÉEQ, these new partnership agreements are the latest in a series of nearly 60 agreements signed with municipal organizations (MOs) in recent weeks, representing 60% of the population of Quebec.

Highlights

  • Effective January 1, 2025, ÉEQ will assume all the costs of collecting and transporting containers, packaging and printed matter collected by means of curbside recycling throughout Quebec;
  • As a result, there will be only one list of recyclable materials in Quebec, regardless of the region or municipality;
  • ÉEQ will compensate the signatory MOs for the associated management fees and the costs of public information services;
  • The partnership agreements have been customized to take into account the particularities of curbside recycling services in the targeted Laurentian MOs, including the municipalities of Mont-Laurier, Nominingue, Sainte-Adèle and Saint-Sauveur, among others;
  • The terms of the partnership agreements with the MOs in the Laurentians are mainly intended to:
    – State the respective responsibilities of each party;
    – Oversee the implementation of curbside recycling services;
    – Establish a list of materials accepted in the recycling bin;
    – Set the parameters for reimbursement and compensation by ÉEQ.
  • These partnership agreements are in addition to those recently signed with many cities and municipal organizations in compliance with the Regulation respecting a system of selective collection of certain residual materials and other regulatory provisions;
  • The agreements signed in the Laurentians announced today cover curbside recycling services for 90,955 people;
  • To date, ÉEQ has reached agreements with MOs representing more than 460 municipalities and 5.1 million Quebecers.

Quote

“We are very proud of working in close collaboration with the municipal organizations in the Laurentians region to implement a more effective curbside recycling system based on the EPR principle. These partnerships play a crucial role in modernizing recyclable materials management in Quebec and, ultimately, in fostering a circular economy.”
– Maryse Vermette, President and CEO of Éco Entreprises Québec.

About Éco Entreprises Québec

Since 2005, Éco Entreprises Québec, a private, non-profit organization, has been representing producers who market packaging, containers and printed matter in their responsibility to finance curbside recycling. Appointed as a producer responsibility organization (PRO) in 2022, ÉEQ is in charge of managing curbside recycling in Québec from a sustainable development perspective.

As the leader in extended producer responsibility (EPR), ÉEQ develops, manages and advises its producer members on circular economy solutions to reduce their environmental footprint. To achieve this, ÉEQ places ecodesign, recyclability and traceability at the heart of its actions with its partners. ÉEQ will continue to fulfill its role as a PRO during the transition from the compensation plan to EPR curbside recycling.

– 30 –

Source
Marie-Claude Rivet
Manager, Strategy and Public Affairs
514-987-1491, ext. 237
mcrivet@eeq.ca

For more information
Maximilian Fiorante
Advisor, Public Affairs
514-375-0174
maximilian.fiorante@hillandknowlton.com