Montreal abandons waste-pricing plan
Revamped Article:
Experts agree that charging folks for the amount of trash they send to the landfill could drastically decrease waste production. Yet, in election years, local politicians—notably in Montreal—tend to shy away from this unpopular tactic, even while landfills are brimming to their limits.
Cities like Beaconsfield on Montreal's west island have successfully employed waste volume-based billing, or pay-as-you-throw (PAYT). The more a household sends to the dump, the higher their waste collection bill.
However, Valérie Plante's administration in Montreal has rejected PAYT for now, based on information from our site's investigations. Instead, to reduce waste, they plan to lengthen the time between regular waste pickups to every two weeks and increase participation in organic waste collection via the brown bin.
Marie-Andrée Mauger, borough mayor of Verdun and responsible for the environment on Montreal's executive committee, explains that they are in the early stages of exploring PAYT, with priority being given to establishing regular waste collection every two weeks before implementing PAYT.
While PAYT is the final step in significantly reducing waste bound for landfills according to scientific consensus, it's essential to provide recycling and composting options before penalizing those who refuse to do so. Montreal aims to have brown bin collection across most of the city by the end of 2025 and wants to extend the every-two-week waste collection citywide by 2029.
Ensemble Montreal, the official opposition at City Hall, supports the decision not to impose PAYT, with Stephanie Valenzuela, the opposition’s spokesperson for the environment, stating that it’s better to educate citizens rather than punish them. The city faces a daunting task in convincing Montrealers to adopt a “zero-waste” lifestyle, with only half of the population currently using the brown bin and a majority opposing the bi-weekly waste collection instead of weekly.
A survey conducted by the city revealed that nearly half of Montrealers oppose PAYT, which involves charging citizens based on the quantities of waste thrown in the trash, in order to promote waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
Karel Ménard, general director of the Quebec Front Commun for Ecological Waste Management, warns that Quebecers take it too lightly when it comes to garbage disposal and suggests that municipalities need to invest more in promoting sustainable waste practices. He believes that PAYT works effectively, as it discourages waste and encourages recycling, but it requires substantial infrastructure to measure and track waste volumes.
In contrast, fixed-fee systems, which charge a flat rate for waste collection regardless of volume, are simpler but ineffective in incentivizing waste reduction. Advanced recycling facilities, like Montreal's Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Montreal-Est, play a significant role in waste management by processing large volumes of recyclables.
Other cities use PAYT to directly influence consumer behavior, but Montreal's approach prioritizes recycling and controlled waste collection infrastructure.
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- Despite the scientific consensus that pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) could significantly reduce waste bound for landfills, Montreal has rejected this system and instead focuses on recycling and controlled waste collection, in contrast to other cities that use PAYT to directly influence consumer behavior.
- In the context of Montreal's struggle to promote a "zero-waste" lifestyle, where only half of households participate in organic waste collection and a majority oppose bi-weekly waste collection instead of weekly, a survey revealed that nearly half of Montrealers oppose PAYT, which involves charging citizens based on the quantities of waste thrown in the trash, in order to promote waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
- Although Quebecers, such as Karel Ménard, general director of the Quebec Front Commun for Ecological Waste Management, suggest that municipalities need to invest more in promoting sustainable waste practices, fixed-fee systems, which charge a flat rate for waste collection regardless of volume, are simpler but ineffective in incentivizing waste reduction, according to experts. Advanced recycling facilities, like Montreal's Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Montreal-Est, play a significant role in waste management by processing large volumes of recyclables.
