Accelerating the shift to a circular economy

Despite citizens’ efforts to recycle, there is ever more waste in Quebec. According to a report by Recyc-Québec, Bilan 2021 de la gestion des matières résiduelles au Québec, the rate at which recovered residential waste is recycled dropped from 52% to 47% between 2018 and 2021. The rate at which recovered construction waste is recycled has also decreased to 46% in 2021, compared with 55% in 2018. Finally, 33% of the waste coming out of sorting centres in Quebec is sent abroad to be incinerated or processed in conditions that are often dangerous for local populations.

This systemic problem is caused, among other things, by a low demand for recycled inputs from recovered glass and plastic, with plastic and glass representing 7% and 6% respectively of the total waste coming out of sorting centres, and by an overuse of these products upstream.

The role of public contracts

Governments represent the largest consumers on the market. Through public contracts, it is possible to improve recycling in construction by choosing products that last as long as possible and that can be repaired and recycled. The Rapport sur l’indice de circularité de l’économie du Québec notes that public contracts are worth approximately $200B every year in Canada, which represents 10% of the country’s total environmental footprint. That is why Recyc-Québec recommends substituting several materials used in infrastructure projects with greener products. For example, wood could replace concrete, where possible.

Public contracts can also facilitate the commercialization of green innovations, such as Maçonnerie Gratton’s Brique Recyc (article available only in French). In the U.S., the Biden administration is leveraging the Buy American Act to stimulate the adoption of green solutions that are American.

Regulation

According to economist Michael Porter, who popularized the concept of industrial clusters, stricter regulation can also stimulate innovation and generate profits, in the long term, that exceed the costs to businesses subject to it. For example, banning single‑use plastics may encourage businesses to replace them with paper or cardboard, which are recyclable. However, in the short term, this may lead to additional costs for businesses.

Sustainable, recyclable materials

Ecodesign—meaning to manufacture products in such a way as to reduce their negative impacts on the environment throughout their life cycle—should also be promoted. For example, Québec’s Precicad has manufactured, based on this principle, an electric vehicle for the Saguenay‒Lac-Saint-Jean business Kargo. This aluminum truck is fully recyclable.

Prioritizing innovation and local products

Cutting-edge and digital technologies are also part of the solution. The Netherlands (article available only in French) is at a 24.5% circularity rate, thanks in large part to automated and digitized solutions, including in market gardening. Note that the circularity rate is at 3.5% in Quebec, which is below the global average of 8.6%.

Innovation can also improve the quality of the recovered waste, an important issue for Quebec’s sorting centres. As such, the SME Waste Robotics in Trois-Rivières (article available only in French) has developed robots that process large volumes of waste, reducing labour needs and decreasing health and safety risks at work.

Finally, efforts should be made to encourage the consumption of local green products to reduce transportation and packaging needs and the reintroduction of returnable glass containers.

There is still much to be done, but solutions exist, and Quebec businesses are in the process of positioning themselves well to move this priority forward.