By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Bromont residents may have access to a new permanent recycling centre in the near future, La Voix de l’Est reported late last week. The paper reported that discussions are underway between the municipality and Écotri Désourdy to explore the feasibility of building a new écocentre as a public-private partnership.

“For the citizens of Bromont, having a local écocentre is a must,” Bromont mayor Tatiana Contreras told the BCN.

There is only one permanent recycling centre in Brome-Missisquoi, the Écocentre régional in Cowansville, administered by the MRC of Brome-Missisquoi (MRCBM). Several years ago, the MRC had a network of six “non-permanent” recycling centres open one Saturday a month; several of the centres closed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to safety and staff availability concerns. The last such centre, in Bedford, closed last year “for budgetary reasons,” Nathalie Grimard, director general of the MRCBM, told the BCN. She said the system of non-permanent centres “ran out of breath,” unable to keep up with increasing demand. “The mayors decided to concentrate on the Écocentre régional,” Grimard said.

Ecotri Désourdy CEO Louis Désourdy has said he is prepared to offer a full-service recycling centre inside the company’s existing sorting centre for construction and demolition waste, near the scientific park, in partnership with the municipality, although it remains to be seen how much the project would cost and what exactly would need to be done to bring the centre into compliance with environment ministry regulations. He said the setup could be completed “inside two or three months” once the necessary approvals have been secured.

Grimard said several questions remain to be answered before the project can move forward. “We have not had those discussions yet, to say what materials [the écocentre] would receive, how much it would cost, who it would be open to – just Bromont residents or people from other municipalities in the MRC? – and what the impact on taxes would be.” The role of the MRC in administering the project, she added, would depend on whether it served a regional or strictly local clientele.

If the project goes ahead, it will be the first recycling centre in the region run by a public-private partnership – the first time such an opportunity has presented itself.  Grimard said it remained to be seen whether that was possible under current regulations. “We are bound by contractual rules and we have to see what kind of partnerships we can have – we have not verified that yet,” she said. She said the MRC’s council of mayors would decide whether to approve the project in collaboration with the city of Bromont.

Neither Contreras nor deputy mayor Nicolas Robillard was available for a follow-up interview. Écotri Désourdy staff referred a request for comment to director general Richard Caron, who was also unable to comment before press time.