Let’s go collect food materials in the new bins and bags being distributed by the City of Quebec… but only in La Haute-Saint-Charles for now.
• Also read: Everything you need to know about the Quebec City Agglomeration Biomethanation Center
• Also read: Quebec: Your food waste will be picked up from your bin soon
The mayor, Bruno Marchand, and the vice-president of the executive committee, Marie-Josée Asselin, officially started collecting the residues found in the new biomethanation center on Tuesday.
“To your bags and bins, citizens! launched Ms. Asselin, proud to launch this planned collection since 2012.
From Wednesday every door will get a small trash can and purple bags free of charge, regardless of whether it is a single-family house or apartments in apartment buildings. This material was designed and manufactured in Quebec.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
Mayor Bruno Marchand, Vice President of the Executive Committee, Marie-Josée Asselin, Mathieu Fournier and Carl Desharnais from the city presented the new collection.
In La Haute-Saint-Charles, things are getting started. The residents now have to sort their groceries (see box).
Organic matter contains a lot of water, which is removed from the incinerator, which will improve its operation, says Ms Asselin.
The city therefore dispenses with the brown bin and the third collection route. A saving of 50 truck trips per day or 13,000 per year and 3,150 tons of greenhouse gases per year.
It’s also one less headache in times of labor shortages, Mayor Marchand said.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
The president of the Val-Bélair district council, Francine Dion, was the first to receive her high school diploma on Tuesday from Mayor Bruno Marchand and councilors Bianca Dussault and Marie-Josée Asselin.
Gradual implementation
After La Haute-Saint-Charles, the other communes will follow. We couldn’t have used everything all over the city at the same time, Ms. Asselin explained.
We must proceed incrementally to give ourselves time to make adjustments because there will certainly be some, the mayor advised.
“There will be challenges and problems. It won’t be perfect. But we move because we prefer imperfection to nothingness. »
Quebec is “one of the few cities in Canada that has made this ambitious decision,” Mr. Marchand said. The capital will have one of the largest biogas plants in North America. Several cities are keeping an eye on what’s being made here for inspiration, he says.
The city has opted for collection through colored bags, particularly because it is better suited to a dense city with multiple apartment buildings.
Citizens don’t have to suffer the inconveniences of nuisance, odors and white maggots in the bins. And even by distributing bags, the city saves $6.7 million a year.
Plastic bags are shredded and burned in the incinerator. But we are actively looking for a way to recycle them.
$210 million project
The Limoilou biomethanation center project will cost US$210 million, of which US$150 million will be borne by the city, which hopes to generate US$100 million in biogas sales in 20 years.
Limoilou councilor Jackie Smith defended those decisions. “This greenwashing project will cost us all dearly, and first and foremost the residents of Limoilou. The city has not yet understood that our neighborhood is a place to live and not a dump. »
HOW IT WORKS ?
- Each apartment will receive a small kitchen bucket and a roll of 48 purple bags, which will be renewed free of charge every six months.
- Full purple bags are thrown into the trash can.
- They are taken to the regular collection and sorted in the incinerator and then sent to the biomethanation center.
- Food residues are decomposed by biomethanation.
- The gas produced by biomethanation is sold.
- The plastic is burned.
TO ASK A QUESTION
Can it be eaten? where is it is part something edible?
If the answer is yes, the rest goes in the purple bag.
Examples:
Leftover meat, vegetable or fruit scraps, coffee grounds, bones, egg or shellfish shells, nut shells, bread crusts, dairy products, etc.
COLLECTION SCHEDULE
November 2022
Haute Saint Charles
December 2022
Karlsburg
January 2023
Sainte-Foy-Sillery-Cap-Rouge
February 2023
The Rivers, L’Ancienne-Lorette
March 2023
Beauport, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures
April 2023
La Cité Limoilou
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