The co-signatories address Serge Marticotte, president, Société des marchés publics de Montréal; Nicolas Fabien-Ouellette, general director, Société des marchés publics de Montréal; François Limoges, mayor of the district of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Valérie Plante, mayor of Montreal.
Published yesterday at 4:00 p.m.
Geneviève Beaudet
Mother at the Montreal Front for Gustave and Edgar, and seven members of the Quebec Zero Waste Association and Mothers at the Montreal Front*
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We would like to express our deep disappointment upon learning that the recent renewal of the agreement between the City of Montreal and the Société des marchés publics de Montréal1 does not provide for any composting program or integrated management of residual organic materials.
We are customers of the Jean-Talon market firstly for pleasure, because we can buy and consume, directly from producers, market gardeners, retailers, restaurateurs and agri-food artisans, fresh, local and very diversified products. But this pleasure is also supported by the conviction of encouraging more local and more sustainable food, in accordance with our values of respect for the environment and nature.
However, last November, we were dismayed to learn in The Press2 that unsold fresh produce was neither composted nor redistributed, except partially. At the Jean-Talon Market alone, more than 340 tons of organic matter per year go into the garbage.
In the transformation that the market has been carrying out over the past few years to preserve and maintain its place in the hearts of Montrealers, where does the environment fit in? What a waste, and what a disappointment!
After learning of our concerns, the management of the Public Procurement Company responded to us that “the process was underway” to find a solution and assess the costs, and has been doing so since 2008, more than 16 years of inaction. . In short, the majority of unsold organic materials from Montreal’s public markets end up in garbage and are sent to overflowing landfills, where these materials emit greenhouse gases.
In their defense, we should point out that the City of Montreal does not motivate merchants to compost by excluding them from free weekly selective collection and that they must assume the costs. However, it is a recommendation made by several groups during the 2021 consultation orchestrated by the BAPE on the inventory and management of final residues: that Montreal “offers the collection of organic materials free of charge to industries, businesses and institutions ( ICI) on its territory, coupled with a tax on the management of waste intended for elimination” 3. Especially since by composting food scraps, we are fighting against climate change, a supposedly important objective for the City of Montreal which recently adopted a Climate Plan.
The wait has lasted long enough, Montrealers, we are in 2024, we no longer have excuses. I can’t wait for the situation to change!
*Co-signatories: Adeline Krieger, Catherine Sachitelle, Geneviève Perron, Hélène Charpentier, Laure Mabileau, Lyne Lefebvre and Nathalie Ainsley, members of the Quebec Zero Waste Association and Mothers at the Front Montreal
1. Read “Local commerce and gastronomy – Montreal renews its commitment to its major public markets for the next 12 years”
2. Read “Jean-Talon Market – Lagging behind for composting”
3. Read the dissertation on The inventory and management of final residues
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