Eco Entreprises Quebec receives $4 million investment in Innovative Glass Works plan

Eco Entreprises Quebec (EEQ), Montreal, has announced the first investments in its Innovative Glass Works plan, allowing for the launch of demonstration projects to equip several sorting centers with glass processing and cleaning machinery in collaboration with partners in Québec and from abroad.

According to EEQ, the selected technology has proven abroad and will be tested in Quebec sorting centers over the next few months. The first segment of the five-year plan announced in June 2015 focuses on the modernization of glass sorting equipment in sorting centers. A request for proposals from Quebec's 24 sorting centers will be issued in January 2016 with the ultimate objective of recycling 100 percent of the glass collected in Quebec.

EEQ says it plans to deploy other concrete measures over the next few months, including support for market outlets that use glass collected via curbside recycling.

According to Maryse Vermette, EEQ president and CEO, "This announcement reflects EEQ's vision of being a curbside recycling optimizer and contributing companies' solid commitment to the cause. This measure signals the end of the climate of uncertainty that has been preventing glass recycling from moving forward in recent years. Tangible and realistic solutions for processing all types of glass in Quebec are at hand, and we are convinced that our step-by-step approach will ensure they are implemented," she adds.

The Innovative Glass Works plan aligns well with the government's sustainable development strategy, according to EEQ.

Denis Brisebois, chairman of EEQ's board of directors, says, "The modernization of sorting centers will confirm Quebec's leadership in the area of glass recycling collected via curbside recycling and will generate significant positive impacts in North America thanks to a major international partnership, the terms of which will be announced next January. The expertise Quebec develops could be exported all over the continent.”

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EEQ develops the Schedule of Contributions and collects company contributions, which are then redistributed to finance municipal curbside recycling services in Quebec. EEQ says it encourages innovation and sharing of best practices to optimize the recyclable materials value chain. It is a private nonprofit organization created by companies that put containers, packaging and printed matter on Quebec's market. The organization was accredited by Recyc-Quebec in 2005 in accordance with the Environment Quality Act.