Curbside recycling of recyclable materials: Éco Entreprises Québec and the ville de Québec enter into a lasting partnership

September 3, 2024 — Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) announces that it has recently signed a partnership agreement with the ville de Québec to modernize its curbside recycling system. Thus, Éco Entreprises Québec will be responsible for overseeing all the system’s operations and financing them. For its part, the municipal administration will continue to ensure collection and transportation services for recyclable materials and will continue to manage the monitoring of daily operations related to them as well as information to citizens.

Cooperation with the ville de Québec and all municipal organizations (MOs) will optimize front-line services. The approach taken by Éco Entreprises Québec contributes to the development of a circular economy and aims in particular to reduce the quantities of materials destined for landfill by improving the list of materials accepted in the recycling bins.

Highlights

  1. Starting on January 1, 2025, ÉEQ will assume all the costs of collecting and transporting containers, packaging and printed matter recovered through door-to-door curbside recycling in the ville de Québec, as well as at its ecocentres. In addition, ÉEQ will compensate the City for eligible management fees and the costs of public information services;
  2. The main objectives of the partnership agreement are to:
    a) State the respective responsibilities of both parties;
    b) Oversee the implementation of the curbside recycling services;
    c) Establish a list of materials accepted in recycling bins;
    d) Set the parameters for reimbursement and compensation by Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ).
  3. With the modernization of curbside recycling, the list of recyclable materials to be put in the bin – containers, packaging and printed matter – will now be the same for the whole province. It will make life simpler for the residents of the ville de Québec and elsewhere.
  4. The conclusion of this agreement is an important milestone marking the beginning of a close collaboration to implement the modernization of the curbside recycling system;
  5. This agreement is in addition to those signed in recent months, as ÉEQ has signed many partnership agreements with various cities and MOs in compliance with the Regulation respecting a system of selective collection of certain residual materials and other regulatory provisions.
  6. To date, ÉEQ has reached agreements with some 115 municipal organizations representing 8.34 million Quebecers, or 98% of the population.
  7. In Québec, the modernized curbside recycling system is scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2025.

Quote

“As in all of Québec, collaboration with the ville de Québec is essential to ensure the implementation of the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR). In this way, we are transforming our recyclable materials management system together, both locally and throughout Québec, to make it more efficient and optimal.”
— Maryse Vermette, President and CEO of Éco Entreprises Québec

About Éco Entreprises Québec

Since 2005, Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ), a private non-profit organization, has represented producers who put on the market containers, packaging and printed paper regarding their financial responsibilities for curbside recycling. Designated as Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) in 2022, ÉEQ manages the curbside recycling system in Québec from a sustainable development perspective.

As a leader in extended producer responsibility (ERP), ÉEQ develops, manages and provides circular economy solutions to its member producers so they can reduce their environmental footprint. ÉEQ places eco-design, recyclability and traceability at the core of all actions with its partners. ÉEQ will continue its role as the organization managing producers’ financial responsibilities in the compensation plan throughout the transition period to EPR.

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To find out more

Learn more about Éco Entreprises Québec’s role as a PRO
For any questions about the right sorting gesture, consult Bin Impact.

For further information:
Anne-Julie Maltais
Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs
Éco Entreprises Québec
514-987-1491, ext. 254
ajmaltais@eeq.ca