Collection of food waste in businesses: Quebec exceeds its target

For the year 2024, the City of Quebec’s objective was to convert 800 businesses to the collection of food waste for institutional, commercial and industrial customers (ICI). Since the service was launched last April, 1,185 organizations in Quebec have joined the collection.

In an email to -, the spokesperson for the City of Quebec, Jean-Pascal Lavoie, mentions that of that number, about half are restaurants, grocery stores and other large generators of food waste.

This is a departure that significantly exceeds the target of 800 set for 2024 and the City of Quebec is delighted with the enthusiasm demonstrated by the ICI.

Facilesay two companies

- visited several companies that have added a bin dedicated to purple bags on their premises. For the most part, this collection responded to a need and a desire to throw away more responsibly.

Food wholesaler Raton Provisions tried the experiment during the summer. The co-founders, Nicolas Roy and Laurence Côté, mention that they had to change some habits, but that the practice was rather easy to integrate into their daily lives.

In business, there are many changes that are difficult to make, especially for SMEs, but it is easy to implementrecognizes Laurence Côté, mentioning that she just needs to scan a QR code to receive new bags for free.

Nicolas Roy estimates that a little more than 60 kg of food waste is thrown away each week in purple bags.

We have reduced our volume of waste by three quarters. Yes, it’s the same weight, but knowing that it’s going towards good use.

Companies have the choice between two formats of purple bags, one with a capacity of 45 liters and the other with 13 liters. Personalized support is also offered by the City to facilitate implementation.

Food waste from the Chez Lefebvre bakery in Limoilou is sent to the biomethanization plant twice a week.

The owner Louis Lefebvre had been approached by the City, but he was already convinced even before the project was presented. We wanted to do a good deed for the environmenthe said.

The owner of the bakery located on 3^e Avenue considers that there has been no adaptation for its employees. There were no operational changes in the kitchen, it was done automatically.

At a press conference on Saturday, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, spoke about biomethanization in his report after three years in office. The family who eats breakfast in the morning, their life has changed in the last three years, because now it’s easy to biomethanize, it’s easy to take their table waste and put it in a purple bag.

A not so success amazing

Marie-France Turcotte, professor of management sciences at UQAM and director of the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility, is not surprised by this enthusiasm from businesses.

It represented a needshe believes, in the sense that there was already a positive attitude, because most people seek to have socially and environmentally responsible practices, but sometimes, we do not have the means to do so.

The smells of composting or the space dedicated to receiving waste could have been an obstacle to converting businesses. However, the pilot projects tested before launching the collection facilitated large-scale implementation, according to her.

For restaurants and grocery stores, it is rather an improved solution that is offered to them. It is to their advantage to do so.

Ms. Turcotte even believes that certain logistical aspects of the collection could influence other municipalities in Quebec.

I think it will have an impact, especially since in the short term the success is strong.

However, she recalls that the Municipality was committed so that the project can see the light of day, particularly on the financial aspect.

The creation of the biomethanization plant also cost the City more than expected. The initial envelope was estimated at $124 million. Ultimately, the plant cost $216 million.

The bulk of the expenses are still taken at the public level, it is not the restaurants and grocery stores that bear these expensessays the professor.

With the collaboration of Louis-Simon Lapointe and Jérémie Camirand