Proper Recycling Practices in Quebec: What Goes in the Green Bin?

2024-01-14 05:00:00

Plastic toys, paint cans, clothing and even lithium batteries: Quebecers are motivated to recycle, but still put just about anything in their green bin.

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“We could dress an entire family in a sorting center every day. We see clothes, plastic objects, tools, pans,” lists Maryse Vermette, president and CEO of Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ).

Quebecers do not always know what to put in their recycling bin, confirms a survey commissioned by the organization which will be responsible for awarding selective collection contracts in municipalities, businesses and in the health sector in Quebec from January 2025.

Thus, almost half of Quebecers would put plastic toys in the recycling bin and almost one in four, plastic chairs.

“There is a gap between the desire to do the right thing and the ability to do it,” explains Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of the Léger firm, which conducted the survey last November.

Bad sorting

Good news: almost all Quebecers recycle, a clear improvement compared to 30 years ago.

However, although almost one in nine Quebecers think they are doing things correctly, not all of them pass the test when asked whether or not objects can go in the recycling bin.

“I feel like there is a lack of information. From the survey, sorting does not seem that easy,” analyzes the pollster.

Out of 15 objects presented in the survey, respondents managed to classify on average 11 in the right place.

Toys and plastic chairs top the list of objects that we think can be recycled, but which have no place there. More than one respondent thinks that construction materials can go in the green bin, which is not the case. It’s 7% for lithium batteries.

Maryse Vermette is president and CEO of Éco Entreprises Québec, the organization that will be responsible for the selective collective in Quebec starting next year. PHOTO PROVIDED BY ECO ENTREPRISES QUEBEC

Impacts

Putting anything in its bin can have serious consequences for employees of sorting centers, whose equipment is designed to sort cardboard packaging, plastic packaging and metal packaging.

“Lithium batteries can cause explosions. Putting a can of paint can also cause serious damage,” warns Maryse Vermette.

“You shouldn’t say to yourself, I’m going to put this in the bin and they will sort it, the sorting center is not made for that,” adds the woman who has worked in the field for 30 years.

More than 2,100 Quebecers aged 18 and over who participate in the selective collection of recyclable materials responded to the survey conducted from November 16 to 24.