Montreal refuses to take possession of its new recycling sorting center in Lachine, two and a half years after its inauguration, because it produces bales that are too contaminated.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The paper that comes out of these brand new facilities contains too much waste for the taste of the City, which since 2019 has refused the transfer of ownership and the payment of final payment. It is operated by the company Ricova.
“We expect a certain level of quality for the recyclable materials that leave the sorting center. The level of quality expected from the contract has not yet been fully achieved, ”said Roger Lachance, director of the City of Montreal’s Environment Department, on Wednesday. “That’s why we didn’t do the provisional acceptance of the sorting center. ”
“We use all the necessary levers, contractually speaking, to make things evolve in the right direction,” he added.
In 2020, The Journal of Montreal reported that the bales produced by the sorting center contained on average 10 to 20% of waste, while the North American standard is set at 3%.
In November 2019, Valérie Plante inaugurated the facilities by praising their ability “to produce quality recyclable materials”. It was not known at that time that Montreal had not yet taken possession of the center.
Mr. Lachance was speaking to the City’s Finance Commission, which reviews municipal services.
A bill of 50 million
In 2018, Montreal had entrusted the design and construction of a new sorting center to the company Rebuts Solid Canadiens (RSC) for 50 million. RSC was also to operate it for five years. However, the company went bankrupt in 2020, despite the check for 30 million received from Montreal in an attempt to keep it afloat. Its competitor Ricova, already involved in the collection of recycling and the export of bales of recyclable products, has taken over.
The new facilities are located in an industrial park, near the intersection of highways 13 and 20. They were supposed to relieve the Saint-Michel sorting center, at the end of its useful life, by managing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recyclable products by year. The Saint-Michel sorting center no longer meets industry standards, particularly in terms of occupational health and safety.
“The sorting center contract covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance stages and contains various requirements, including performance criteria to be achieved for the quality of the materials leaving the center,” the City of Montreal indicated by email. The successful tenderer is responsible for all stages of the contract. “
“The center is operating at the expected production level,” continued the City.
Alan DeSousa, elected opposition member who sits on the Finance Committee, denounced Wednesday the long delay between inauguration and taking possession: “It’s exaggerated”, he said. “The lack of quality of the materials coming out is unacceptable. “
PHOTO ANDRE PICHETTE, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Alan DeSousa, elected opposition member of the Finance Committee
On Wednesday, Ricova turned down an interview request for The Press. The company argued that its contract with the City of Montreal prohibited it from speaking to journalists.
Its Lachine facilities suffered a serious fire last November. A stack thrown in a recycling bin (which is prohibited) exploded in the sorting center, before reaching a large reserve of paper. Montreal firefighters had to fight the flames for ten hours, moving through a factory filled with thick smoke.