(Quebec) That companies throw tons of food products or goods such as electronic devices and clothing every year, when they are perfectly usable, is no longer socially acceptable, says the Parti Québécois (PQ). The political party will table a bill on Tuesday for the government to bring retailers who do not contribute their share in order to find a second life for their unsold products.
“The production of waste is expensive for society, municipalities and taxpayers in Quebec. When it’s waste that is new, unsold material or that we can consume and use, that’s what makes it scandalous and requires the government to intervene,” says The Press the member for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Joël Arseneau.
As an example, he cites a study by Recyc-Québec, according to which 16% of the 7.5 million tonnes of food that enters the province’s biofood system each year are lost or wasted. According to Mr. Arseneau, “the government must help us bring Quebecers, and particularly industry, back to practices that are much more socially acceptable, much more economical and much more environmental,” he said.
The role of business
The PQ bill is the second parliamentary initiative of its kind to hit the headlines in recent days. Earlier this month, Québec solidaire (QS) also proposed to force food companies to reduce waste by entering into agreements with food aid organizations.
At the Parti Québécois, we explain that their thoughts go a step further, while the political party also wants to tackle the waste of furniture and fashion retailers and supermarkets who intentionally destroy goods to make them unusable, rather than to entrust them to social economy enterprises and organizations that could use them.
The PQ says its bill provides for “very repressive administrative, pecuniary and criminal penalties” against companies that try to circumvent the law. These penalty provisions could range between $2,500 and $1,500,000.
Repair before throwing away
According to Joël Arseneau, Quebecers have lost their good habits of repairing the goods they own before buying new ones since planned obsolescence means that a new product often costs less to buy than repairing the one we already have.
“If we have lost this reflex of bringing electronic devices back to the repairer, for example, it is either because the retailer tells us that it will cost more than buying a new one, or that the parts are going to take a long time to order and obtain, whereas in today’s society we want immediate results or fast service,” he says.
The PQ propose that merchants or manufacturers make available “the spare parts, tools and repair services necessary for the maintenance or repair of an object” and that this be part of their obligations as retailers. .