The overhaul of the selective collection system came into force on Wednesday, at the same time as the new year began. The government’s objective: to simplify the sorting of residual materials in households, which will lead to certain changes in your recycling bin. Duty helps you see clearly.
What can I put in my recycling bin?
Not just paper and cardboard. The organization responsible for collection since the reform came into force, Éco Entreprises Québec, has produced a simple guideline for citizens across the province: if it is a “container”, a “packaging » or a “print”, it can go in the bin, whatever the material.
That means a glass bottle of olive oil, a metal can of tomato sauce, a glossy paper magazine, a scrap of aluminum foil, and a piece of plastic wrap all go in your blue bin — or green, depending on the city.
Even polystyrene food packaging, like the ones that would contain the extra-large poutine from the local snack bar, can be recovered. As long as the leftover brown sauce is rinsed with water before putting it in the bin.
Remember: it is no longer necessary to check if what you want to recover is marked with a recycling symbol, or even if it has a number. As long as it is a container, packaging or printed matter.
Are there any exceptions?
Yes. Of course, if the object you want to put in the bin does not correspond to one of the three categories mentioned above, it cannot be recovered.
Plastic utensils, for example, should be put in the trash. Same thing for all “long-lasting” containers, such as a cooler, a saucepan or a tool chest. The user can always donate it if said container is still in good condition.
Nothing new here: any aerosol container must be sent to your local ecocenter. Cells, batteries and bulbs too. Expanded polystyrene, which is often found in the packaging of furniture or household appliances, and which is recognized by its tendency to break up into small balls, goes in the trash.
What are the best practices to adopt?
It is better to avoid putting cardboard or paper that is too soiled by food in the bin. If the container or packaging is “very dirty or soaked”, it can however go into the compost, supports Éco Entreprises Québec.
It is also recommended to separate the different materials from the same container. Let’s take the example of a box of biscuits. Everything is now recoverable, even the plastic wrap that keeps the cookies fresh, but that doesn’t mean it should go into the bin in one piece. It is also preferable that the metal lid of a jam container is detached from its glass jar.
“The exception to the rule: small caps (less than 5 cm in circumference) must remain in their original container so as not to fall through the cracks,” writes Éco Entreprises Québec.
You can also make balls with your aluminum foil before placing it in the recycling.
What are the next steps in the reform?
For the moment, the overhaul of selective collection only applies in residences, in educational establishments — with the exception of universities — and in certain small industries. Businesses and universities will follow in 2027. Then, all industries in 2030.
Containers made of wood, cork, ceramic, porcelain and fabric should also be accepted in recycling bins from 2027.
The deposit was to be extended this year to glass and multi-layer containers, such as milk cartons, but this reform was postponed until 2027 due to management problems within the organization responsible for carrying it out.
