TAYLOR CLARK
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
LITCHFIELD – A waste management service based in Litchfield has been awarded the contract to “receive, transport, and dispose of household waste” across MRC Pontiac.
Against only one other bidder, Centre FilloGreen, who focuses on sorting, processing, recycling, and valorization of construction, renovation, and demolition materials, was given the contract after a resolution was passed at the June 19 Council of Mayors meeting.
FilloGreen President Roma Gauvreau said the company would be picking up where the previous contractor, McGrimmon Cartage of Shawville, left off. “We’ve been serving the area (with) our sorting centre, and this is a good contract for us to continue on the same path,” he said.
The MRC declined to comment on the new contract prior to it being signed to “avoid influencing the legal process.”
Some question the choice of awarding the contract to FilloGreen given the company’s track record. The company was found guilty and fined over $40,000 for four violations under the Environmental Quality Act in 2018, operating under the name Centre de tri Pontiac.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Environment, the company failed to respect the conditions of its authorization during the operation of its work in 2013. Offences included storing wood and metal in areas other than where specified, not waterproofing the sorting surfaces, as well as storing asphalt shingles outside, in violation of the Environment Quality Act.
The press release also listed a 2015 violation where the company was found to have failed to take the necessary measures to ensure materials were stored, treated, or eliminated in an authorized place.
FilloGreen was ordered to pay a $37,500 fine along with reimbursing $3,247 of prosecution costs incurred by the Ministry.
In 2019, Benoit Charette, then Environment Minister, issued an order demanding the Centre cease the deposit and burial of any type of residual materials in unauthorized locations. The waste management service was required to submit a plan to restore the premises and keep up to date with the Ministry while the restoration work was carried out.
Gauvreau told the Journal that FilloGreen has now developed a good working relationship with the Ministry and is looking forward to embarking on the new contract. Litchfield Mayor Colleen Larivière was happy to see the contract awarded to a company in the municipality. “This is going to be an opportunity for them to prove themselves, to make sure that they follow the rules and get things done the way that they’re supposed to,” she said.