Sustainable development

City rebate available for cloth diapers, sustainable menstrual products

City rebate available for cloth diapers, sustainable period products

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

If you live in Quebec City and buy reusable or eco-friendly diapers, pantyliners or menstrual products, you could be eligible for a rebate from the city.

On Sept. 17, city officials issued a public notice to “remind” citizens that the subsidy for sustainable personal hygiene products, first launched in early 2024, is ongoing.

In 2024, according to the Ville de Québec, the program received 2,725 applications, including 2,530 for sustainable personal hygiene products and 195 for cloth diapers. Annually, the subsidy program provides up to $200,000 for the purchase of sustainable products.

As of June 2025, 1,032 people had submitted applications, including 939 for sustainable personal hygiene products and 93 for cloth diapers. Funds are still available and applications can still be submitted.

Interested and eligible citizens can complete an application using the online form managed by the Groupe de recommandations et d’actions pour un meilleur environnement (GRAME), the organization mandated by the Ville de Québec to administer its support program. The form (in French only) is available on the GRAME website (grame.org) or on the Ville de Québec website. Rebates of up to $100 per person for sustainable hygiene products and $200 per child for the purchase of washable diapers are available. Products purchased within Quebec City are eligible for a slightly larger rebate.

La Pêche town hall wins eco-design award

Local Journalism Initiative / The Low Down / April 30, 2025 / Centre of Expertise on Commercial Wood Construction (Cecobois), Design excellence award, Ecobuilding, Guillaume Lamoureux, La Pêche, Masham, Passivhaus, Sustainable development

By Trevor Greenway

The municipality of La Pêche has won a design excellence award for its Passivhaus town hall, which is officially the first institutional building in Quebec to have the German eco-building status.

The award was given out earlier this month by the Centre of Expertise on Commercial Wood Construction (Cecobois), whose mission is to facilitate the increased use of wood buildings in multi-family and non-residential construction across the province. La Pêche won first place in the Sustainable Development category.

According to the jury panel, La Pêche’s new town hall, which spans an impressive 1,426 square metres just off Hwy 366 in Masham, “Comprehensively considers its environmental footprint.” The town hall officially opened in November 2024.

“Minimizing the construction’s intrinsic carbon footprint and reducing consumption through a Passivhaus design demonstrates demanding and advanced work,” the panel wrote. “A pioneering building, it paves the way for low-carbon institutional buildings in Quebec.”

Passivhaus is a German building concept in which a building or home must adhere to a specific design standard and use 90 per cent less energy than conventional buildings. Passivhaus buildings have no active heating system and boast ultra-low energy costs.

The new town hall cost La Pêche $11.5 million, however half of that was covered in provincial grants.

La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux was in Quebec City in early April to accept the award.

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