ecocentre - MRC de La-Vallée-de-la

Welcome to the Gatineau Valley
eCOCENTRE
ÉCO
For all enquiries please contact :
(819) 305-2007 or 1-855-506-2007
www.mrcvg.qc.ca/centre_transfert_ecocentre
ÉCOCENTRE
The ecocentre,
the right way to throw away
The Gatineau Valley Ecocentre has been operational since the 29th of April 2011. The
ecocentre provides a place for citizens and businesses to responsibly get rid of many
different types of waste. The rates applicable for recycling services offered at the
ecocentre are set according to the type and quantity of waste to be managed. Current
rates can be obtained on the MRC’s website, at the ecocentre or by telephone.
Upon arrival, every ecocentre user must address himself or herself to the weight station
at the entrance of the site and speak with the on-site operators. They will instruct you
on how and where to unload waste on the site and which items are charged.
The name of clients and their municipality of residence is taken by the operators for
billing and statistical purposes. Complete contact information of businesses is taken for
billing purposes.
Reception
Sorting of materials by the citizen
WOOD
METAL
TIRES
161 rue du Parc Industriel
Maniwaki, Québec J9E 3P3
Open Monday through Friday
7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The ecocentre is open every 2nd Saturday of every month from
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. For more information, please call us
or visit our website.
1-855-506-2007
(819) 305-2007
[email protected]
mrcvg.qc.ca/centre_transfert_ecocentre
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ÉCOCENTRE
Gatineau Valley Ecocentre
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Construction material
· Mixed materials (gypsum, roofing shingles, windows and doors,
siding, etc.)
· Rocks, concrete, bricks
· Treated or painted wood
Garbage and recyclable materials
ÉCOCENTRE
Ecocentre rates
By the ton
By the ton
· Materials normally accepted in curbside recycling pick-up (paper,
cardboard, plastic, metal and glass containers)
· Typical household waste
· Construction materials or other materials mixed with garbage
· Non recyclable large items
« Natural » wood and plant residues
· Untreated and unpainted wood
· Grass clippings, leaves and branches
Oversized tires
· Tires larger than 123, 19 cm (48,5») (diameter)
Small propane cylinders
· Camping style single-use cylinders, normally green in colour
For up-to-date rates, please visit our website at :
www.mrcvg.qc.ca/centre_transfert_ecocentre
Waste not accepted at the ecocentre
· Contaminated soil
· Garbage from outside the province of Québec
· Animal carcasses
· Sludge, manure and slurry
· Biomedical waste
· Radioactive waste
· PCB and cyanide
· Munitions and fireworks
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By the ton
By kg
By the unit
Metal
· Ferrous and non-ferrous metal
· Home appliances
· Propane cylinders of 20 lbs capacity or more
Car and truck tires
· Smaller than 123,19 cm (48,5») (diameter),
with or without rims
Household hazardous waste
· Paint
· Oil and oil filters, used oil containers
· Used batteries
· Aerosols and lubricants
· Organic or inorganic household hazardous waste
· Compact fluorescent lightbulbs, neon tubes
· High intensity lightbulbs, UV lamps, etc.
Electronic equipement
. Office computers
. Laptops, notebooks, tablets, netbooks and e-book readers
. Computer terminals
. Televisions
. Printers, scanners and fax machines, photocopiers
. Cellular and satellite phones
. Cordless and conventional phones, pagers, answering machines
. Keyboards, mouse, cables, connectors, chargers, remotes used
with above-mentioned products, etc.
ÉCOCENTRE
free of charge
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RECYCLING
Recycling
Recycling is a practice which is equally beneficial for our
environment and our economy. Recycling considerably reduces
waste management costs. Every ton of recyclable material
collected and sorted instead of landfilled generates approximately
100 $ in savings. Recycling is thus a practical method of reducing
municipal taxes levied for waste management purposes.
Moreover, recycling allows for reuse of non-renewable resources
such as plastic, metal and glass, and reduces the exploitation
pressure on renewable resources such as wood (used for paper
and cardboard products). Industrial material sorting and recycling
techniques use far less energy than that which is needed in the
extraction and transformation of raw materials.
Where do our recyclable materials go once
they are collected at the curb?
After door-to-door pick-up, recyclable materials are transported
to the Waste Transfer Station in Maniwaki or directly to the new
Tricentris sorting centre in Gatineau. It is at the sorting centre
that a tin can or a piece of paper is sorted, bailed and stockpiled
with similar items. Bails are then sent to recycling factories
where what once was waste will become a new product.
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RECYCLING
What’s the deal?
In 2012 the MRC became proud members of Tricentris. After the
initial one-time payment of the life-long membership fee of 4.51 $
per permanent resident, the cost of recycling materials is no
longer based on a tipping fee but is ensured by an annual flat fee
of roughly 0.80 $ per permanent resident. This new deal is
incredibly interesting for our municipalities as it represents a
roughly tenfold savings compared to the payment of the tipping
fee. More than 100 000 $ is thus saved every year by the reduced
cost of sorting materials at Tricentris.
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Return it to earth
What is compost?
Compost is the high-quality organic material left over after kitchen and garden waste
decomposes with the help of micro-organisms, insects and oxygen.
Why compost?
- To decrease the volume of our waste that goes to landfill; compostable material makes
up 40% of most household garbage
- To reduce pollution in landfill sites; 500 g of organic waste buried in a landfill
(decomposing without oxygen) produces 3 cubic meters of biogas, mostly methane,
one of the main greenhouse gases. It also produces leachate (transport of
contaminants to groundwater)
- To improve the soil in our garden
- Compost can be used as an amendment, it can improve the quality of garden soil.
It can also be used for houseplants
Guiding principles
Organisms living in the soil produce compost. Just like us, they need a good balance
of air, water, and food. The oxygen supply stimulates the activity of decomposing
microorganisms. The more they work, the sooner the compost will be ready. It is
decomposition in the absence of oxygen that causes bad odours.
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What CAN we compost?
A good compost needs a mix of green and brown residues. The ideal ratio is 2 parts
brown to 1 part green.
Green residues are rich in water and nitrogen
• Fruits and vegetables
• Grass and weeds
• Mature manure
• Egg shells
Co mp os t
Brown residues are rich in carbon. A few examples are :
• Twigs, sawdust
• Cereals, rice and bread
• Nut shells and cores
• Dead leaves
• Coffee grounds (with filters) and tea bags
• Straw
• Paper and cardboard (ideally these should be shredded)
What CAN’T we compost ?
• Meat, fish, and bones*
• Fats and oil*
• Dairy products*
• Pet waste**
•Treated wood and plywood**
• BBQ briquettes**
• Dryer fluff**
Do not compost
* These residues cause undesirable odours in your compost
** These residues are sources of contaminants or pathogens
Getting started
You can buy a compost bin or simply make one at home. The important thing is that the
contents be accessible and that the bin be aerated. Place the bin directly on the ground
in a place that will be convenient for you. Ideally, the chosen site will be semi-shaded
and well drained.
For more information - Department of Sanitization - Environment
(819) 463-3241 extension 248
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Garbage
No less than 8 900 tons of garbage (household waste) generated in the Gatineau Valley
MRC were landfilled in 2011 at a technical landfill site situated in Lachute. The roundtrip distance between Maniwaki and Lachute is 520 km.
$$$
The cost of managing garbage destined to be landfilled is exorbitant and is by far more
imposing than the cost of running recycling programs or promoting household
composting. Landfilling, and related transportation, costs roughly 55.00 $ per year per
person for an annual garbage production of roughly 430 kg per person. The MRC as a
whole, spent more than 1 000 000 $ in 2011. By means of comparison, in the same
year it cost only 90 000 $ to transport and sort 1 850 tons of recyclable materials, this
represents a cost of 4.70 $ per person per year. As for household composting, it costs
practically nothing to treat an important volume of organic waste.
If every citizen participated thoroughly in recycling and household composting, not
only would provincially set waste reduction objectives be met but we would collectively
save at least 380 000 $ per year (that’s a savings of 20 $ per person per year). These
practices would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 100 equivalent
tons of CO2.
Waste management practices also generate
important environmental impacts.
Without considering door-to-door pickup services, transport of garbage from
the Transfer Station in Maniwaki to the
landfill in Lachute generates one
equivalent ton of CO2 per round-trip.
No less than 274 truckloads of garbage
were shipped from the Transfer Station
in 2011.
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Landfilling is also a source of environmental nuisance due to the anaerobic (without
oxygen) decomposition of organic waste. Compacted and “suffocated’’ organic waste
generates a greenhouse gas 21 times more effective at warming the climate than CO2.
Another non-negligible risk associated with landfilling is the contamination of surface
water and of underground water tables from waste leachate.
Luckily there are alternatives to landfilling which are already planned for our area.
The Gatineau Valley MRC has concluded a binding agreement with the City of Gatineau,
Collines-de-l’Outaouais MRC and Pontiac MRC in order to ensure the creation of a
privately owned waste-to-energy plant to be built in the Outaouais to serve the
Outaouais. The appropriate firm will qualify itself through a process held by the
aforementioned entities and will ensure that our waste is transformed into a valueadded product rather than landfilled.
It is very important to note that this installation, which may be operational by 2015,
will never be a unilateral solution to waste management. It will be designed to treat
garbage only and will never supplant recycling and composting which will always remain
essential elements of a successful waste management program by providing important
savings and resource recuperation.
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RECYCLING… AN INDUSTRY IN CONSTANT EVOLUTION
WHETHERATHOME,SCHOOLORWORK,WECANALLMAKEADIFFERENCE
REDUCE,REUSE…RECYCLE!
PAPER&CARDBOARD
IAMRECYCLABLE
Newspapers, circulars, magazines
Paper, envelopes and paper bags
Books, telephone books
Cardboard tubes
Cardboard boxes
Egg cartons
Juice and milk containers
Aseptic containers (ex. Tetra Pak™)
PLASTIC
Allplasticcontainers,bottlesandwrapping
thatareidentifiedwiththefollowingsymbols:
1
2
3
4
5
7
Lidsandcovers
Plasticbagsandfilm*
METAL
*Considering the difficulties associated with the markets for these plastics, Tricentris
encourages you to look for alternatives whenever possible and to favor their reuse
before depositing in the recycling bin.
Aluminiumfoilandcontainers
Aluminiumbottlesandcans
Cans
Lidsandcovers
Refundablecans
HOWTORECYCLE?
Lightlyrinseallcontainers.
Includeonlycleanandunwaxedpaperandcardboard.
Tofacilitatethesortingprocess,placeallshreddedpaperina
transparentbag.Pleasedothesame(abagofbags)forall
plasticbagsandfilm.Leaveallotherrecyclableslooseinthebin.
Disposeofall#6(polystyrene)aswellasanyplasticitemthatis
notidentifiedwitharecyclingsymbol.
Pleaseattachmetalcoathangerstogetherinabundle.
According to a study of residential recycling bins conducted in 2010 by Éco Entreprises
and Recyc-Québec, it is estimated that up to 10% of its contents would be better suited for
treatment in another facility: a used clothing or furniture store, an eco-center, a composting
facility or the landfill.
Pleaseconsultwithyourmunicipalityformoreinformation
onthefollowingitems:
Constructionmaterial(vinylsiding,wood,plumbingmaterial,
tools,etc.)
Householdhazardouswaste:carbatteries,batteries,propanetanks,
paint,tires,compactfluorescents,etc.
Electronics:computers,televisions,cellphones,etc.
Textiles
GLASS
Compost
Foodandbeveragecontainers,bottles,andjars
(allcolors)
Used clothing and furniture stores, eco-centers and composting centers are equipped to give
a second life to these items. If reuse or recycling is not an option, they will be responsibly
eliminated.