Montreal, August 30th, 2023 — Following last spring’s announcement of the agreement in principle between Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) and Green For Life (Matrec – GFL), the two organizations formally signed a contract on August 25th enabling Matrec – GFL to begin construction of the brand new sorting centre to serve the East End of the island of Montreal. This major investment by ÉEQ – as manager of the curbside recycling system – is the first major milestone in the modernization of the system in Quebec. Going forward, residents of the East End of the city will be well served when it comes to sorting materials from their curbside recycling bins!
Every year, nearly 800,000 tonnes of recyclable materials are recovered across Quebec through curbside recycling. The new infrastructure is designed to process 150,000 tonnes a year, which is almost double the capacity currently being handled by the Complexe Environnemental St-Michel (CESM) and 15-20% of the total tonnage of curbside recycling in Quebec.
Matrec – GFL will start operating the sorting centre on January 2nd, 2025. To achieve this, the company plans to make major investments at its Montréal-Est site in order to build the new infrastructure that meets the highest industry standards. The group will be handling operations for the next ten (10) years, with an option to renew for an additional five (5) years. ÉEQ and Matrec – GFL are convinced that this major sorting infrastructure, which will become the largest sorting centre in Quebec, equipped with the most efficient sorting equipment manufactured in Quebec, will set new standards for the future of curbside recycling throughout the province.
As of October 1st, 2024, materials from curbside recycling that were previously being sent to the CESM will be handled by Matrec – GFL. A transition plan will be implemented to ensure that materials are sorted between the end of the current operating contract with the CESM and the start of operations at the new sorting centre in January 2025. With this transition plan, ÉEQ and Matrec – GFL can assure Montrealers that there will be no service interruptions to hinder the sorting they do on a daily basis.
The call for qualification regarding construction and operation of this new sorting centre to serve the East End of the island of Montreal was issued in November 2022, one month after ÉEQ became the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) for curbside recycling in Quebec. The agreement in principle between ÉEQ and Matrec – GFL was signed on April 28th, 2023. Since then, the company has begun preparatory work for the construction of the future sorting centre, which will be located in the Montréal-Est industrial park.
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