Composting: Not for tomorrow in Avignon and Bonaventure
The delays keep piling up for the implementation of compost in the Avignon and Bon RCMs.
“We are currently in the process of transferring the management of the Saint-Alphonse LET. Integration into the Régie. The Régie had to make a loan by-law to the tune of more than 7 million which there is awaiting approval from the ministry ”, assures the president of the intermunicipal management of residual materials Avignon-Bonaventure, Éric Dubé.
The Régie, which still has 24 municipalities, has been created for a year and a half now. The objective of its president Éric Dubé was initially to install a composting system before 2021. COVID-19 has delayed the process, as well as the municipal elections in November.
The acquisition of the Saint-Alse technical landfill site will significantly advance the project.
“We will have the opportunity to decide if we are doing a public management project just for the municipalities, we will manage our own system. There, we would have the possibility of doing it directly where the technical landfill site is. Or we will perhaps look at establishing Public-Private partnerships because there is a company in the area that could offer the service, ”explains Mr. Dubé.
For its part, the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Regional Environmental Council is impatient to see composting arrive on the territory.
“Today we are ready, we are just attending the bac. If we did a survey, people are ready, ”said Executive Director Caroline Duchesne.
She is not surprised that the process is so long.
“The biggest is done. We now have a Régie which has been set up; the rest will come more quickly from the moment the loan by-law is approved, ”Ms. Duchesne said.
At the Rocher-Percé MRC, composting has been part of the reality of residents since 2012.
“Instead of burying 100% of the material, a significant ratio of 3,300 tonnes is diverted from landfill and is reused in compost sold to citizens”, explains the general manager of the intermunicipal board for the treatment of residual materials of the Gaspésie, Nathalie Drapeau.
Even though a decrease in attendance has been observed over the years, the is still popular.
“Last year we adopted a new regulation on the management of residual materials which requires sorting and today we have seen an increase of about 20%,” says Ms. Drapeau.
Éric Dubé prefers not to decide on a specific date for the establishment of the compost on the territory. However, he mentions that there will be a lot of developments in the file during the year 2022.