Congestion in Greater Montreal | The waste industry calls on cities to “indulgence”

The congestion caused by the partial closure of the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine tunnel is likely to be felt even in your garbage cans. Players in the waste management industry are asking municipalities to be indulgent, as delays accumulate in waste collection.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

“We have big slowdowns all over the region. Collection is much slower. Delays are on the order of 25% on average”, confides the director general of the Council of companies in environmental technologies of Quebec (CETEQ), Kevin Morin, in an interview with The Press.

According to him, two projects are aggravating the situation: the closures in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel – where three lanes out of six will be closed as of October 31 – but also the ban on truck traffic on the Papineau-Leblanc bridge, on Highway 19, which was announced by the government “for an indefinite period”. Thousands of waste collection trucks normally use these two nerve centers on their daily journey.

“A company that has a contract in a borough or a city, it is not able to finish its route for the day with 25% delay,” insists Mr. Morin.

The delays go beyond the borders of Montreal and its crowns, according to the general manager. “If a truck was to be in the Lower Laurentians, but it was late in Longueuil, it will be felt even there,” says Mr. Morin.

“A case of force majeure”

At the Matrec group, a division of GFL Environnemental, the regional director for sustainable development, Richard Mimeau, is categorical. “We are really faced with a case of force majeure. Delays affect the whole chain. It goes from one hour of waiting to four or five in the sorting centers. And it snowballs on everything else, ”he illustrates.

“We do our best to provide service, by doing business with firms to recruit workers in French-speaking Africa and Latin America. We even bring people from other regions and stay at the hotel. But it’s gonna take some help. Can we extend the hours? Say we have two days to pick up instead of one day? We will have no choice but to come to that,” continues Mr. Mimeau.

The public affairs director of the recycler EBI, Nicolas Perrino, also foresees “serious problems”.

“We need to change our lines, our routes and our collection times. It will become much more advantageous to do it in the evening. Yes, it will require a lot of gymnastics, since it is a major problem, but it must be done, ”insists Mr. Perrino again, also demanding “more listening” from the municipalities.

Domino effect

Waste Management spokesman Martin Dussault confirms that his teams are also “heavily affected” by the congestion. “Even outside Greater Montreal, it has a domino effect. We have dozens of trucks that have no choice but to travel through the tunnel, and that are taken about two hours longer than normal. It reduces their productivity by about 33%,” he estimates.

“Punishing companies right now is not the right thing to do. On the contrary, it helps to further increase operating costs. What we need right now is flexibility, cooperation from the municipalities,” adds Mr. Dussault.

Moreover, CETEQ also asks cities, even those less affected by congestion in Greater Montreal, to listen. “We often see in cities that are less sensitive to the reality of congestion, that it is easier for them to give a company a penalty, for example. But it’s not justified. It’s not their fault,” insists Mr. Morin.

“We invite cities to be lenient, to avoid penalties when it is not justified and when it results from congestion. And we would also like more coherent government planning for our members. Having two heavily congested highways, at some point, has repercussions on our operations. We must also take this into account, ”concludes the DG.