Residential Waste Collection contract renewal, Gatineau scraps weekly green waste collection

Sophie Demers

On January 31 during the plenary committee, the Service de l’eau et des matières résiduelles

(SEMR) presented the plan for the contract renewal and changes that will follow in the Waste

Management Plan (PGMR). The current waste collection contract will expire on May 29, 2024.

Calls for tenders for compost and garbage will soon be announced.

The proposed changes include separate collections of green waste brown bags, usually used

for leaves, branches, etc. Currently, brown bags are collected alongside the brown compost

Bins; however, for green waste, SEMR proposes two collections in the spring and three

collections in the fall. For each collection, up to 20 bags of leaves and five bundles of branches

would be allowed per household. It may also be possible for citizens to purchase another bin

and mark it with a “V” to dispose of additional green waste.

Gatineau plans to introduce on-demand collection for bulky waste and bulky wood and metal

articles. This model was successful in the pilot project that the city conducted in part of the

Plateau sector last year. There would be nine bulky waste collections a year with a maximum of

four items per collection day and no more than 12 articles per building. Residents would sign up

for bulky waste collections, which Gatineau says will limit greenhouse emission as garbage

trucks will only travel to the houses requesting the service. Gatineau says this mode of

collection for bulky waste would also reduce Christmas tree collection to one day a year instead

of two.

“So far, nothing is official,” said Gilles Chagnon, Lucerne Councillor. “The new Waste

Management Plan (MRMP) is now in the City Council review phase. We are certainly sensitive

concerning the environment and this new plan will change a few practices that are currently in

place. We will meet our environmental targets.”

Provincial recycling regulation changes

On July 7 of last year, new regulations concerning recycling came into force. The regulations

stated that producers who commercialize, sell, and distribute containers, packaging, or printed

matter is fully responsible for creating, planning, and providing the financial support for a

modern waste collection system. Quebec has assigned Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) as a

management organization to represent producers.

This means that the contract for collecting recycling material will be separate from composting

and garbage. Calls for tenders for the recycling contract will be announced later than for the

other waste contracts. The period of negotiations between Gatineau and ÉEQ will take place

from March to September of this year. These discussions may bring about more changes to the

PGMR and may impact residents.

“We must adapt to new provincial legislation and new practices, while respecting our budget,”

said Chagnon. “I am very sensitive to the concerns of citizens and know that I defend their point

of view by taking these realities into account.”

The contract for composting and waste is set to be awarded in May and communication

campaigns on new collection methods are set to start in the summer. Gatineau plans to start the

transition to the new collection mode in May 2024.