A major milestone in the curbside recycling system

Montréal, January 17, 2024 — The city of Montréal and Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a partnership agreement to modernize the city’s curbside recycling system. The agreement formalizes the new relationship between ÉEQ and the city of Montréal, as the designated management organization (DMO) will now be operationally and financially responsible for recyclable materials management (RMM) and accountable for system performance. The city will remain closely involved in the system, particularly in terms of drawing up the specifications for collection and transport contracts, field inspections, as well as public information, awareness and education.

This new agreement will optimize the curbside recycling ecosystem, which will bring benefits to both the city and Montrealers. Updating the system will lead to savings of at least $20 million per year, improved performance and renewed relationships with recyclers. Through this agreement, Montréal has ensured that the city’s particularities are taken into consideration by ÉEQ, in the direct interest of the public.

The partnership agreement signed with ÉEQ ensures the smooth optimization of curbside recycling services for the city. The city of Montréal, with its unique urban density, has specific needs, and we would like to thank our partner for its excellent collaborative work with us. With this agreement, Montrealers will continue to benefit from a curbside recycling service that is efficient and even easier.  In Montréal, the system modernization, which will result in annual savings of at least $20 million, is a major milestone in reducing waste at the source and improving the local recovery of recyclable materials. Ultimately, we want to recycle better, develop our circular economy and reduce the volume of materials ending up in landfills. Montréal has made an ambitious commitment with its 2020-2025 master plan for residual materials management, which aims to divert 70% of residual materials from landfills by 2025 and 85% by 2030,” explained Marie-Andrée Mauger, the Montréal Executive Committee member responsible for the ecological transition and the environment.

“The full significance of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) lies in this new partnership with Montréal. The agreement with Québec’s largest city is an important milestone in the modernization of curbside recycling. We are proud that it takes into account the diversity of Montréal. We made sure that we will meet all the winning conditions to comply with both the particularities and the built environment of the 19 boroughs,” stated Maryse Vermette, President and CEO of Éco Entreprises Québec.

Highlights

• Effective January 1, 2025, ÉEQ will assume all the costs of collecting and transporting containers, packaging and printed matter collected through door-to-door curbside recycling in the city of Montréal, as well as in its ecocentres;
• In addition, ÉEQ will compensate the city of Montréal for eligible management fees and the costs of public information services. The partnership agreement lays the groundwork, while the associated customizable appendices outline the specific features of curbside recycling in the city of Montréal;
• The terms of the partnership agreement and the customizable appendices are mainly intended to:
  a) State the respective responsibilities of each party;
  b) Oversee the implementation of the curbside recycling service;
  c) Determine a list of materials accepted in recycling bins;
  d) Set the parameters for reimbursement and compensation by ÉEQ.
• The excellent collaboration between the city of Montréal and ÉEQ has greatly facilitated the discussions leading to the conclusion of this agreement;
• The agreement with Montréal is in addition to those recently signed at a time when ÉEQ is currently in an intense period of signing partnership agreements with many cities and municipal bodies of various sizes in compliance with the timeline set out in the Regulation respecting a selective collection system for certain residual materials and other regulatory provisions. These agreements will be announced during the coming weeks;
• The modernized curbside recycling system is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2025, throughout Québec.

Collections and recycling in the city of Montréal

Do you want to know how to sort your waste, find out the collection schedule, compost, recycle and know what you can take to the ecocentre? Click here to learn more about recycling in the city of Montréal and in your borough. If you have any questions about proper sorting, you can also visit binimpact.ca.

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 Designated Management Organization (DMO) 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 DMO during the transition from the compensation scheme to EPR curbside recycling.

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Sources:

Marie-Claude Rivet
Manager, Strategy and Public Affairs
Éco Entreprises Québec
514-987-1491, ext. 237
medias@eeq.ca

Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle
Press Secretary
City of Montréal
438-354-8017
beatrice.saulnier-yelle@montreal.ca