Recyclable materials | The Saint-Michel sorting center is still overflowing

Recyclable materials are once again piling up around the sorting center of the Environmental Complex of Saint-Michel, in Montreal.

Jean-Thomas Léveillé
The Press

“The material is outside, at the mercy of the weather,” noted Karel Ménard, director general of the Quebec Common Front for Ecological Waste Management (FCQGÉD), Friday.

Trucks were unloading the contents of Montreal household recycling bins directly outside the building, he observed. ” It is not normal. »

Bales of sorted materials are also stored outside, noted The PressMonday.

“It’s excessively dirty,” says Mario Laquerre, lecturer in waste management at the University of Sherbrooke, who also went there on Friday. “I have never seen the site like this. »

The one who has been a regular at the place for nearly 20 years says he has observed only four employees assigned to the pre-sorting of materials, and none elsewhere.

“They make low-grade materials,” he laments, adding that he saw “a lot of people picking up bundles, removing the pieces of plastic that protrude so that they can pass inspection. »

Consequently, the quality of the materials to be recycled bundled will be lower, says Karel Ménard.

Breakage and lack of staff

There is “a little more material than usual” around the sorting center, but “absolutely no lack of sorters”, told The Press Stephanie Dunglas, spokesperson for Ricova.

The company took over the management of the sorting center of the Environmental Complex of Saint-Michel and that of Lachine after the company Rebuts Solids Canadiens (RSC) placed itself safe from its creditors, in 2020.

This is a “special situation”, says the City of Montreal, which attributes it to “mechanical breakdowns and a lack of staff during the long weekend of the Easter holiday”, indicated a spokesperson. , Guillaume Rivest.

In addition, the company responsible for transporting the materials stored outside was unable to do so according to “the schedule initially planned”, but “the situation should be resolved this week, according to Ricova”, specifies t -he.

Questioned by The PressRicova has not indicated whether these materials are intended for the Canadian market or for export.

The problem is chronic, believes Karel Ménard, seeing it as a sign that “we are not able to sort the materials we receive, period”.

A similar situation occurred in particular in January 2020.

Outdoor netting in Lachine

Both Ricova and the City of Montreal say that the situation at the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex sorting center has no impact on the Lachine one.

The bales of materials accumulate outside there too, as well as certain residual materials in bulk, noted The Presstuesday.

“It’s an old recycling trick,” says Mario Laquerre. By putting the bundles outside, the rain will make them heavier and they will be worth more, because they are sold by weight. »

Large quantities of recyclable materials dispersed by the wind also litter the land of the Lachine sorting center and neighboring land.

The accumulation of recyclable materials outside the Saint-Michel and Lachine sorting centers occurs at a time when relations are very strained between the Plante administration and Ricova.

The company threatened Monday to sue the City if the latter tries to terminate the contracts that bind them, as recommended by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in a report released last month.