When the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2025, Quebec not only celebrated the beginning of a new year–– it welcomed a new, bold era of recycling. Quebec’s recycling system is now managed by (EEQ), a private non-profit organization that oversees all operations related to selective collection. In Quebec, selective collection refers to the curbside recycling system where household waste is collected separately from your recyclables.
Different days, different types of waste. Seems simple enough, right? Not necessarily. For me, and so many of the people in my life, recycling is riddled with precarity and nuance. Questions surrounding the cleanliness of the recyclables, the type of plastic they are made of, or what the point of recycling is, are omnipresent. Far too often, the easiest answer to any one of these queries is to toss the item into the all-too-familiar black trash bag. Out of sight, out of mind.
This lack of proper disposal, among other things, has caused Quebec to face a serious waste issue. With landfills and recycling plants becoming with non-recyclable waste - the province had to make some serious changes. In 2020, RECYC-QUÉBEC conducted its second provincial . This extensive investigation sought to compile data on what types of materials - and how frequently - arrived at landfills.
The results were staggering. Paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and metal - all materials that should not end up in a landfill - made up more than 1.1 million tons of waste and of the total waste in the municipal sector. To make matters worse, Quebec officials have estimated that 50% of household recyclables end up in the trash. This issue is one that not only requires urgency to address, but also a robust, long-term solution.
That is where the EEQ comes in. Having been appointed by the Quebec government to oversee all aspects of curbside recycling, the company has developed an efficient and user-friendly recycling program. When we were once asking ourselves: Can this go in the recycling?, we now find ourselves asking: What ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t go in the recycling?
While some municipalities and Montreal boroughs have been using blue bins to dispose of their recycling, others have used green bins. With this new initiative, the EEQ will blue bins with the Bac Impact (Bin Impact in English) logo to replace the existing large green bins. This is done in an attempt to simplify the recycling process for individuals, as well as the bin color across the province.
How do we know what specifically goes in these blue bins? According to : “Containers, packaging, printed paper. That's it.” For containers, the organization identifies a few examples. Shampoo bottles, oil bottles, milk containers, cream containers. A good rule of thumb, they emphasize, is if they have a cap or a lid.
The second category of items they identify is packaging. These items are made of paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, and glass. If you need help spotting them, think to yourself: are they easily used to transport a product? Paper bags, egg cartons, metal cans, are all acceptable examples. Printed papers make up the last category of blue-bin-appropriate items. These include newspapers, magazines, envelopes, menus, etc. As has always been the case for recycling - it is important to rinse out items and make sure they are relatively clean before putting them in the blue bin. What does “relatively clean” mean you may ask?
A for the EEQ speaks to the classic peanut butter jar example. While tedious, it is important that containers such as these are rinsed and cleaned before being tossed. Likewise, a pizza box with a few grease stains is eligible, however, if it really is soiled with cheese and sauce, then it should be put in your regular trash.
The main difference between recycling now and how it used to be in Quebec isn’t so much how you treat your recyclables - they should always be clean, but instead the number of items that can be recycled. It is important to note, however, that with this new system, not every single item we are told to put in the recycling bin will be recycled. A from the EEQ noted that there is merit to putting these items in the bins because it will increase the number of items being recycled overall.
To make our lives even easier - the EEQ has compiled a short of things that absolutely cannot go into the blue bin. These include aerosol cans, polystyrene packaging (better known as Styrofoam), and biodegradable plastics. If, however, you are feeling any sliver of doubt about whether something is recyclable, Quebec has you covered there too! Using (which also can be downloaded as a mobile app on your phone), you can identify which municipality you live in and then type in the specific item you are unsure about. The website will then tell you if it should go off to the landfill or into the recycling!
While recycling requires a continued individual effort - in Quebec, now more than ever there is no excuse to overlook it.
Eva Kellner is a recent graduate from the Faculty of Arts and Science, with a major in Environment. Her research interests include urban green spaces, urban agriculture, and outdoor community spaces - all as promoters of climate resilience among city-dwellers.
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