Verdun will exceed Quebec’s fixed recycling objective

Asking people to change their habits is not exactly easy. It took years to convince drivers to wear seat belts. So it must be the same for household garbage collection. The decreased frequency to one collection per week of household waste disrupted the habits of Verdun residents who were afraid that their garbage would accumulate between two collections.

Barely flexible in the beginning, the schedule was limited to three hours (between 5:00 am and 8:00 am) for residents to put their garbage out. Fortunately, Borough Council changed its policy by extending this period to be between 10:00 pm and 8:00 am the next day, except for the businesses on Wellington and de l’Église streets. Moreover, Mayor Claude Trudel asked residents to inform municipal authorities if their irregular schedules or some other reason prevent them from meeting the collection schedule. The Borough is able to save 25% of transportation and landfill costs by limiting the collection of household waste to once a week, and by strongly encouraging residents to try to recover items that have been recently thrown in the garbage.

Based on 2007 data, for example, the Borough collected more than 22,000 tons of waste and 4,500 tons of recyclable matter. The volume of recyclable matter therefore has more than doubled in a year and a half.

“We’re on the right track for exceeding the objective fixed by the Quebec Government at 5,500 tons of recyclable waste for Verdun Borough in 2009”, Claude Trudel pointed out.

Numerous communication campaigns promoting recycling, as well as the creation of the Maison de l’environnement, have enabled us to meet with residents and to make them aware of the added value of recycling”, said Ginette Marotte, municipal Councillor and president of the Commission on the Environment.

In spite of the market’s collapse (up to 90% decrease) for recyclable materials like boxes, plastics or metals, the selective collection continues; what is collected is then sent to the St. Michel sorting centre, while waiting for prices to go up. Jacques Reid, Chief of the Permits and Inspection Division of the Borough, quashed the popular belief that recyclable waste is now found in waste-disposal sites. “Recyclable waste does not go to waste disposal sites, they are presently in storage”, he said.

As for penalties relating to placing of garbage bins in public areas outside the stipulated hours, Jacques Reid was referring to a violation of the regulation concerning the cleanliness of public areas, and believes that a courtesy ticket without fees should be issued only for the first offense.