I recently attended a conference on waste management in Quebec, organized by CRE Montreal with speakers from the Recyc-Québec, Centre Eaton and Héma-Québec. The conference was titled, “Projet de nouvelle politique de gestion des matières résiduelles”

The main speaker was Mario Laquerre, from Recyc-Québec, went through their plans for reducing the of waste sent to landfill. Recyc-Québec’s first policy came out in 1989, the second in 1998 and the third in 2010. The new goals go further than ever before and have the ultimate purpose of sending 100% of recyclable or valuable waste to the appropriate processing facility. Despite their best efforts, the amount of waste sent to landfill has been steadily increasing as seen in this image – notice how it is tied to sales at stores, though it is obvious, it does make the point that our economy is tied to waste.

One figure that stood out was how the population in Quebec has increased by 5% since 1998, but waste has increased by 47%. Thank you China. Full Bilan found here. In 2009, per capita, we recycle more than we are send to the dump, but our increase in consumption means more is still going to the big hole in the ground (see image above).

Today, 96% of paint, 92% of used oil and 88% old tires are properly disposed of – not sent to the landfill. This great success is due to the taxes and deposits placed on these items, companies must recycle them or face stiff fines, the cost of recycling is also built into the product. These initiatives work, and should be applied to more products – though some lend themselves more to this method than others. The next targets for this system of deposits is cooling liquids, mercury based lamps, batteries and electronic equipment – all major polluters in landfills.

Organic waste is also a top priority for Recyc-Québec, with a goal of recovering and processing 100% of organic waste by 2020. If we can successfully achieve these ambitious goals, Québec will be much greener.

The Eaton Centre and Héma Québec presented their modest initiatives to curtail waste. If you recall, a few years ago the Eaton Centre was caught throwing out recyclables; afterwards, they decided to be green – goes to show you that we need a both a stick and a carrot to get companies moving.

From the Economist, here’s a chart that shows China and America vying for the greatest rate of increase in wind capacity. Interestingly, China is about to overtake Germany. As the magazine points out, the global cumulative capacity of wind power grew by 31% in 2009, despite the global economic downturn.

As a special offer, we are posting all of our environmental guidance text in all of the jursidictions available to non-members. This is a temporary offer for one week, please let us know what you think and feel free to sign-up for an account. Here are our topics and sub-topics:

Click here to access all of the topics listed below.

Air Emissions
Prohibitions and Approvals
Ambient Air Quality Standards
Air Emissions Standards
Combustion Emissions Standards
Monitoring and Reporting
Vehicle Emissions
Other Requirements

Approvals, Authorizations or Permits
Approvals, Authorizations or Permits

Contaminated Sites
New contamination
Investigation of suspected contamination
Registration of sites
Site remediation
Buying or selling a site

Emergency Situations
Emergencies

Environmental Impact Assessments

Fuel Transfers
Handling
Fuel Containers Shipping & Receiving
Bulk Transfer Shipping & Receiving
Accidental Release

General Waste Management and Stewardship
General Waste Management and Stewardship

Greenhouse Gases and Pollution Inventories

Halocarbons
Common Requirements
Accidental Release
Refrigeration, Cooling Systems
Solvents Containing Halocarbons
Fire Extinguishing Systems

Hazardous Material Management
Storage

Hazardous Waste Management
Storage
Disposal
Generator Registration / Approval

PCB Management
Continued Use of PCB Equipment
Release of PCBs
Storage of Waste PCBs
Shipment and Disposal of PCBs
Export of PCB Wastes

Pesticide Management
Classification
Accidental Release
Purchase, Use, Disposal, and Shipment

Petroleum Products Storage Tanks
Approvals to Own/Operate
Storage Tank Installation
Storage Tank Maintenance
Storage Tank Inspections
Storage Tank Decommissioning

Transportation of Dangerous Goods
Shipments by Land
Shipments by Air
Shipments by Water
Accidental Release during Transport
Security and safety requirements

Transportation of Hazardous Wastes
Shipments by Land
Shipments by Air
Shipments over Water

Used Oil Management
Classification and Registration
Use of Used Oils
Used Oil Storage
Used Oil Disposal
Used Oil Shipments
Accidental Release of Used Oil

Wastewater Discharges
Administrative Requirements
Initial Installation
Discharges to a Storm Sewer
Discharges to a Non-Storm Sewer
Discharges to an Open Watercourse
Accidental Releases to a Sewer
Other Regulatory Requirements and Guidelines