“Serpuarians” stored dangerously in Quebec?

Here we are in Lavaltrie, at the head office of FCM Recyclage. It is one of the big players in electronic recycling, with five factories across the country. FCM Recyclage swears to follow responsible and ethical processes.

On the ground, Noovo Info notes that the places are overflowing.

Visiting the factory courtyard, no member of staff questions us about our presence. There are tons of waste stored in the open, piled up or thrown into containers – some of these containers are partially covered.

On site, we can clearly see the torn boxes of official depots from Quebec’s electronic product recycling program…

The famous “Serpuarians”.

Is this really the right way to do it?

Mario Laquerre, former director of knowledge management at Recyc-Québec, meets us near the FCM Recyclage site. “It could be dangerous if there ever is a fire in there,” he comments. According to the professor specializing in waste management at the University of Sherbrooke, there is a risk of fire if objects such as used computers are left in the open air.

Noovo Info checked with the Fire Safety Service of the MRC de D’Autray, which covers the territory of Lavaltrie, in Lanaudière: there have been four fires at the factory since 2022.

“Exactly,” replied Mario Laquerre upon learning this information. “That’s where you have to be careful.”

SEE ALSO | Increase in fires caused by lithium batteries thrown away for recycling

The dangers of improper storage of certain metals

Inside our old electronic products that we throw away, there are toxic heavy metals: lead, mercury, cadmium… When properly stored, these metals do not really represent a health hazard where the environment. However, a danger remains when they are altered.

In the vicinity of the FCM Recyclage site, Noovo Info observes several types of electronic cards lying around. This is when such objects are considered residual hazardous materials, which cannot be stored in piles outside a building.

“Quebecers pay approximately $20 million per year in eco-fees for the management of excess electronic products,” calculates Mr. Laquerre. At this amount, he therefore finds that we should be at “zero risk when we have materials that are dangerous”.

Noovo Info asked FCM Recyclage about its materials storage methods.

We are told that there are no objects “constantly” outside. “There is material that is in transit; sometimes, it’s collected outside,” explains Gilles Marcotte, vice-president of sales and marketing at FCM Recyclage, who tells us that the company does not keep containers filled with computer equipment outside – not unless it’s “to the minute before entering shredding.”

Noovo Info observed that a container of electronic waste has been lying outside at FMC Recyclage for more than six months.

The Environmental Quality Act stipulates that outdoor storage which exposes it to bad weather presents a risk to the environment due to soluble toxic contaminants contained in certain components. For this reason, the storage, dismantling and processing operations of end-of-life computer equipment and the management of the equipment resulting from these operations are governed by the Regulations on hazardous materials. This regulation is clear. “Residual hazardous materials cannot be stored in piles outside a building.”

“Regular” inspections, but containers lying around for months

Direction eCycle Solutions, in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, in Montérégie – another major electronic recycling company operating in Canada.

“We receive equipment from all the ecocenters in Quebec,” assures us Tony De Iuliis, general director at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. It is recycled at a level “around 97%”.

Of all these items, there are none outside, we are assured. “Everything went into our building. We have a security guard and cameras.”

However, videos filmed by Noovo Info with a drone clearly show containers filled with electronic waste outside the building. Made aware of this situation, the manager hesitates and replies: “No… In the courtyard? No. If we have containers, we may have bundles, but the information has already been removed.”

FCM Recyclage and eCycle Solutions are both accredited by the Association for the Recycling of Electronic Products of Quebec (ARPE-Québec), which is mandated by ARPE-Québec. Its director, Dominique Levesque, maintains that operators ensure that all electronic waste is protected from bad weather and processed as quickly as possible so that there is no storage or accumulation.

A “Happy New Year” for the “Serpuarians”?

No recent fines have been issued to FCM Recyclage or eCycle Solutions recently, according to information available from the Ministry of the Environment.

At Recyc-Québec, we are told that responsibility for monitoring electronic recycling sites lies with ARPE-Québec, which tells us that inspectors regularly visit recyclers.

ARPE-Québec considers that it ended the year 2023 with “excellent results”, mentioning that more than 19,000 tonnes of “Serpuariens” were collected and diverted from landfill sites.

Risks for worker health? A former employee of FCM Recyclage in Lavaltrie tells us about the risks that employment in this field represents for the health and safety of workers. Noovo Info collected his testimony on condition of anonymity because he fears reprisals. This ex-employee claims that he was forced to take a blood test because of a risk of lead contamination. The worker never saw the results; he was only told that “everything was OK”.

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