Quebec must focus more on reducing and reusing than recycling, BAPE says

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Quebec’s environment ministry and Recyc-Québec need to review their strategies and focus more on reduce and reuse than recycle, the province’s environmental watchdog says.

In 2019, Quebec set a goal of reducing the amount of landfill waste per inhabitant to 525 kilograms or less by 2023, an “improbable goal” according to commissioners Joseph Zayed and Pierre Renaud of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE).

The 623-page report notes that in 2019, it was 724 kg.

The report says reduction at source and reuse “are secondary in government measures adopted until now” and the commission sees “an opportunity for Recyc-Québec” to develop “more powerful” measures targeting these rather than focus on recycling.

Banning some non-recyclable single-use products should be considered, the commissioners said. When asked what kinds, Renaud would not give details, but mentioned “some fast-food packaging products.”

The BAPE said voluntary measures have reached their limit and the government should take “more robust actions” including adding fees to some single-use products and creating a “right of repair” and tools to work against planned obsolescence.

Unless there’s a significant drop in household waste, nine of Quebec’s 38 landfills will reach capacity by 2030 and 13 others by 2041, the report said.

Équiterre praised the recommendations. Analyst Amélie Côté said “there’s a limit to trying to bury our problems.”

Current measures to charge for waste “are woefully insufficient to be dissuasive,” she said. “If it’s less expensive to throw away than to reduce or recycle, it’s silly to think we can progress on this issue.”

Environment Minister Benoit Charette said the BAPE’s recommendations “will be taken seriously” and acknowledged there is “a lot of work to do to better manage waste.”

Recyc-Québec said it intends to put reduction at the source at the heart of its strategy.

“We have to massively invest in reduction at source and circular economy strategies,” said president Sonia Gagné, “as well as the construction, renovation and demolition sectors,” which represent 28 per cent of waste.