Q-2, r. 35.1 - Québec residual materials management policy

Section 7.6 Disposition versions

2012-09-01

7.6. Support regional planning and performance

The regionalization of residual materials management is one of the major achievements of the 1998-2008 Québec Residual Materials Management Policy. It was given concrete expression through an amendment to the EQA requiring regional municipalities to develop residual materials management plans (RMMPs) and by the establishment of a government funding program for regional municipalities. The EQA also gave these municipalities a regional management role by requiring the RMMPs to cover all residual materials produced within their territory, including household, industrial, commercial, institutional, and other types of waste. Given that the RMMPs are one of the pillars of residual materials management, the government intends to ensure, after consulting partners, that they comply with this Policy and EQA requirements.

The EQA does not contain residual materials management provisions for Northern Québec, a vast region inhabited by approximately 40,000 people. Local and regional governments are well aware of the fragility of northern ecosystems and the importance of the sound management of residual materials for their development, and they have expressed their desire to manage them better. The government wants to support these governments in order to improve the management of residual materials in northern areas.

Though regional municipalities are responsible for planning residual materials management, the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI), as well as the construction, renovation and demolition (CRD) sectors remain responsible for the waste they generate in a given area covered by a RMMP. They must support the cost of managing these wastes in accordance with the rules and activities provided for in the concerned RMMP.

In enforcing regulations, the government can support regional municipalities in planning residual materials management by giving the industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sector obligations aimed at promoting achievement of Policy and action plan objectives.

However, municipalities can also take action with industrial, commercial and institutional stakeholders to promote achievement of these objectives. For example, they can adopt regulations, impose conditions on the granting of permits, or provide or share services.

In implementing their RMMPs, some local and regional municipalities have worked harder than others to achieve the Policy’s objectives. The government should take these efforts into account when redistributing funds to municipalities to encourage regional performance. Consequently, the Program of Redistribution to Municipalities of Charges Payable for the Disposal of Residual Materials will consider the global performance of all sectors in a given area and include criteria to enable to grouping of comparable regional municipalities. Based on this criteria, during the first 5 years of Policy implementation, the goal of reducing to 700 kg per capita the amount of waste sent for disposal throughout Québec will serve as a basis for calculating performance.

In order to encourage performance, government would like to recognize municipalities that achieve the best results and share this information with the public.

Residual materials recovered by municipalities should be transported to facilities that maximize their value and send the smallest amount possible on to disposal sites. The government wants to ensure that the sorting centers for recyclable materials are efficient and can appropriately meet market needs. To this end it intends to work in concert with various stakeholders to study the problems encountered in the sorting centers, including the standardization of accepted materials and the markets.

O.C. 100-2011, s. 7.6.