A Green Capital

Food Waste Collection

Photo: Québec City

Looking to do something for the environment? The City of Québec is continuing its food waste collection pilot project for industries, businesses, and institutions (IBI).

This project involves three boroughs:

• La Cité-Limoilou
• Les Rivières
• Sainte-Foy–Sillery – Cap-Rouge

Why Take Part in This Project?

There are several reasons to take part in this project.

Do More for the Environment

By taking part in the collection of food waste, you help reduce the quantity of waste disposed of at the City of Québec’s incinerator. By the end of 2009, some 100 small and medium-sized businesses had successfully diverted over 1,000 tons of food waste from disposal. This waste was composted at a private site in the Portneuf area. The resulting compost was sold to nurseries or individuals for soil improvement.

Set an Example

Composting is a principle of sound environmental stewardship that helps foster social responsibility on the part of your staff and customers and encourages them to adopt environmentally responsible practices.

Enhance Your Image

This initiative could qualify your organization for certification under such programs as ICI on recycle!, Cégep vert, ISO 14000, Brundtland Green School, LEED, Visez juste, and more.

A Joint Commitment from You and the City

For the duration of the pilot project, the City of Québec agrees to :

• Assume the costs of collecting, transporting, and composting wastes
• Inform partners on how to sort, store, and collect compostable materials
• Supply information kits containing
• A list of waste materials accepted
• Details on how materials will be collected
• Signs for identifying the waste containers
• Provide continuous monitoring to avoid problems or nuisances

IBI partners agree to :

• Instruct the staff involved on how to sort and store waste for compostable materials collection
• Assume the cost of acquiring indoor and outdoor containers for the collection (i.e., indoor receptacles, caddies, or containers)
• Use compostable plastic bags (not oxodegradable)
• Put only accepted materials in containers
• Use compostable materials containers for such materials only in order to avoid contamination
• Use the prescribed collection points and adhere to the schedule

I’ll Do It!

To take part, contact Marie-Christine Tremblay to obtain all necessary information and find out if you are eligible for collection.