waste management

Before you kick it to the curb, register first!

No more tossing your old, ‘70s, flower-patterned couch to the curb anymore as residents in La Pêche will now have to register for bulky waste pickup before getting rid of their unwanted larger items.

In an effort to divert more items from the landfill, La Pêche has partnered with a new bulky waste company, Consifund, in Gatineau, which will use a list of registered households to map out its bulky waste route instead of touring the entire municipality in search of large items sitting at the end of driveways.

“We’re trying to work with another company in order to really reduce the costs,” said La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux. “It’s to be more efficient, really. That way their route will be planned according to where bulky waste is located. When it comes to bulky waste, we’re trying to minimize what was once sent to landfill as well. Our previous contractors – there was no effort to reuse or recycle.”

The municipality is also reducing its frequency with bulky waste pickup, dropping down to just four pickups throughout the year. Pickups will take place in: January, April, July and October. According to the municipality, residents can register up until the Friday before the collection date. La Pêche’s next collection will come on Jan. 29, and residents can register online via the Voila! app or by calling 819-456-2161, option 1.

An online form will ask users to fill out their information and also add a description of what item(s) they are looking to get rid of. Lamoureux said this information will help the waste management company determine whether an item should be donated somewhere, recycled or if it’s suitable for the landfill.

“This will be done by the collector,” added Lamoureux. “So, they will pick it up and then figure out, ‘Oh, we can donate this,’ or ‘We can throw this away’ – all in an effort to minimize what goes to the landfill.”

Along with the changes to bulky waste pickup, residents may have also noticed that their garbage is sitting in their driveway for an extra day. That’s because, according to Lamoureux, La Pêche has joined forces with Chelsea, Cantley and Val-des-Monts for a regional service, and the schedule has shifted for household pickup.

Lamoureux said figuring out the new schedule is simple: “The days just shifted by one day. Basically, if you were on Monday, you’re now on Tuesday. If you were on Tuesday, now Wednesday, and collection days are between Tuesday and Friday.”

More information on La Pêche’s collection schedule can be found on the municipal website. The province has also launched a new expanded recycling and composting program with guidance on what to compost, what to recycle and information on where it all goes. Visit www.recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca for more.

Gaspé takes over non-residential waste management

Local Journalism Initiative / The Gaspé Spec / September 25, 2024 / gaspe, nelson sergerie, waste management

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Starting in January, the Town of Gaspé will take over the administrative management of waste collection for commercial, institutional and industrial sectors.

Twelve years ago, the Town transferred this collection to the private sector with the contractor reaching an agreement with the customers regarding billing.

However, circumstances have changed. “Everything was going relatively well until a year or two ago when the prices for waste collection skyrocketed,” says Mayor Daniel Côté. The Municipal Hall then started receiving complaints. “After seeing examples where bills were double, triple or even more, we said to ourselves ‘why not take it over’? We had it analyzed and, in the end, for businesses, industries and institutions, it would ultimately be cheaper for them to have these collections on their tax bill instead of dealing with the private sector,” explains the mayor.

On September 16, the municipal council adopted a 90 day notice effective January 2025. A clause in the contract allowed the Town to do this.

“It will still be Matrec that will do the collection, but instead of the business paying a bill to Matrec, they will pay it on their tax bill. In the end, it will end up being much cheaper for them in all the specific cases studied. The Town has fixed and global rates with Matrec, which allows for cost advantage savings,” calculates Mr. Côté.

Residential pickup

The general collection contract for residents will expire in a little over a year.

Complaints have been decreasing, which indicates that the situation has been resolved after the contractor experienced many difficulties in carrying out the collection, including many delays.

Given the surge in waste collection costs, the idea of municipalizing the collection will be analyzed again.

“It was looked at last time and we arrived at similar costs, but entrusting it to the private sector removes a lot of management. The situation has changed. Probably before returning to the call for tenders, we will probably have an option to do it internally,” says the mayor.

The Intermunicipal Waste Management Board would have to buy trucks and hire staff to collect and maintain the vehicles.

“It has to be calculated in advance, but with what we’re seeing, with the number of complaints we’ve had for some time with the contractor in the last year and a half, with what’s happening in the industry and the trade with billing that has more than doubled, and with costs that have skyrocketed in the latest calls for tenders, the time has come to review once again and look at the best option,” says Mr. Côté.

The options will include either managing it internally, having a call for tenders, or a combination of both scenarios.

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