Initially planned for the fall of 2022, the deposit reform will finally be implemented in the spring of 2023.
We are very, very concerned about the issues and the impacts of the pandemic which has caused a lot of damage to different actors, and this is the reason why we have agreed to an additional period of six months
, explained Minister Charette during a press briefing on this draft regulation and the modernization of curbside recycling.
The entire retail network has been largely affected by the pandemic. For us, they are essential partners. There have been, despite this pandemic, dozens of meetings over the past year, but clearly, the numbers are running out, the time is running out
, said the Minister.
« This is a debate that dates back to the early 1980s with regard to the deposit, so giving yourself six more months to do well, in fact, it is a period that is quite reasonable. »
Announced in January 2020, the deposit reform provides for its extension to all glass, plastic or metal containers from 100 milliliters to 2 liters. Most of these containers will be subject to a 10¢ deposit, except for bottles of wine and spirits, for which the rate will be 25¢.
As soon as it is implemented, the return network will be required to serve at least 90% of the Quebec population with some 1,500 service points, recalled Benoit Charette, according to whom a six-month period, it’s very cheap to pay
to offer a modern system that meets the highest standards.
Québec solidaire, for whom the climate crisis […] don’t wait
, does not agree with Minister Charette at all. Émilise Lessard-Therrien, party spokesperson for the environment, denounces this additional delay when it has been years
that people talk to me about it, tell me that they are ready and that they are waiting impatiently
.
Is the government really using the pandemic to postpone the expansion of the deposit? The pandemic has a broad back I find
, replied the supportive MP, who believes that the CAQ still puts the environment last on its list of priorities
.
End the crisis
in sorting centers
In recent years, importers of recyclable materials have decided, for various reasons, including the poor quality of the products, to close their doors to materials from abroad, including Canada. This crisis led to the burial of waste that should have been recycled in Quebec.
The reform of the selective collection system, which will require companies that produce containers, packaging and printed matter to take charge of them from recovery to recycling, aims to curb this dependence on foreign processors by promoting the circular economy.
The reform should begin gradually starting in the fall of 2022, for full deployment on the 1is January 2025. Then, from 2027, organizations responsible for recovery will have to reach revaluation thresholds of up to 85% for cardboard and 80% for rigid plastic.
The magnitude of the transformation should not be underestimated
, indicated the Minister to justify the two-year floating period between the full deployment of the reform and the minimum requirements for upgrading.
We experienced a crisis in the management of sorting centers, with the closure of foreign markets […], but already the transformation that we have initiated has generated a very, very significant increase in the price of materials, and already, even if we are at the beginning of this transformation, we are less and less dependent on foreign markets
, assured Benoit Charette.
Once these reforms are fully implemented, I think our dependence on foreign markets will probably be reduced to almost nothing.
, he added, assuring that there is a market for recycled materials in Quebec. It is now aboutan irreversible step
, also specified the Minister, addressing directly the companies not very enthusiastic about the reform.
Landfill fees will be reviewed
These announcements by the Minister come the day after the publication of a report on the management of residual materials by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE).
The organization concludes that the Quebec is on track to miss its waste reduction targets, despite major remedial measures initiated
, i.e. the modernization of selective collection, the expansion of the deposit and the strategy for the recovery of organic matter.
The commissioners also underlined the fact that relying on recycling is no longer enough in Quebec to control the quantity of residual materials that must be eliminated each year, whether by landfill or by incineration.
According to them, it is urgent to act by reducing the quantity of waste at the source, in particular by consuming more responsibly. Among their proposals are, among other things, the establishment of dissuasive rather than incentive landfill tariffs, the cost of landfill being particularly low in Quebec, according to the commissioners.
If he said he was happy on Wednesday to confirm major advances
including BAPE“,”text”:”objectives that will allow us to respond to the BAPE report”}}”>objectives that will allow us to respond to the report of the BAPE, the Minister of the Environment is not harboring any illusions.
« You have to remember that this is a report that I commissioned myself. So if I ordered it, there was an indication that it was wrong. »
I like to praise Quebec’s leadership in the environment, but I also say very openly and very frankly that when it comes to waste management, unfortunately, we are not the leaders we would like to be.
, added Benoit Charette.
There are major advances that need to be made. […] We can’t stop there.
BAPE, I can confirm that in the coming weeks, at least the next few months, we should also table a new draft regulation on landfill fees”,”text”:”If we refer to the BAPE report, I confirms that in the coming weeks, at least the next few months, we should also table a new draft regulation on landfill charges”}}”>If we refer to the report of the BAPE, I can confirm that in the coming weeks, at least the next few months, we should also table a new draft regulation on landfill fees
, said the minister.
It’s quite true, from the moment that burying is the most economical formula, the easiest formula, it does not allow the development of new strategies
, he conceded.
Also asked about other suggestions contained in the report of the BAPE, such as those to impose an ecotax or to prohibit the marketing of certain materials or certain single-use products, Benoit Charette did not however decide.