Recuperation of Recyclable Materials: Best practices
Since January 1, 2025, any container, packaging or printed matter made from plastic, paper, cardboard, glass or metal will go in the blue bin! This includes all flexible plastic bags and packaging (whether stretchable or not), and all rigid plastic containers (whether identified with a Möbius strip or not).
- Containers: usually have a cap or lid.
- Packaging: used to easily transport a product.
- Printed matter: paper and other fibres with text, patterns or images.
Important message: As the wheeled bins are larger, the collection operations may require more time. For everyone’s safety, it is essential to be patient on the road and to not bypass the trucks and collection staff.
Best Practices
Gather items composed of the same material (ex.: make a bag of bags, make aluminum paper balls).
Separate items composed of different materials (ex.: a glass jar with metal lid).
Exception: leave small caps on containers
Empty and rinse product and food containers.
Disassemble boxes to maximize space in your bin.
Cover your materials from rain and snow by closing your wheeled bin or by placing a flattened cardboard box over top if you have an open bin.
Regarding the modernization of selective collection for recycling
Éco Entreprise Québec (ÉEQ) is now responsible for the selective collection system for the whole of Quebec, and manages the modernization of the collection and processing system for recyclable materials. ÉEQ has launched the Bin Impact initiative to raise awareness and educate the public about the importance of sorting recyclable materials at the source, and to put an end to grey areas when it comes to determining what does and doesn’t go in the recycling bin.
With a simplified and standardized list of accepted recyclable materials for the whole of Quebec, there will be greater batch volumes for each material type, and the consolidation of these batches will ultimately make it possible to develop markets for recycling them.