--- Gatineau partners with company to recycle Styrofoam products for manufacturing purposes

Jordan Gowling

Gatineau residents will be able to drop off their used Styrofoam at two ecocentres in Hull and Gatineau as part of a one-year pilot project announced by the city on October 22. The city has partnered with a recycling company called Groupe Gagnon, headquartered in Prévost, Quebec, to repurpose used Styrofoam for the manufacturing of concrete street benches and insulation products for basements and walls. 

The project is part of the city’s effort to reduce household waste in the city by 45 per cent, as outlined by the 2016-2020 Residual Materials Management Plan, according to Counsellor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette. She says Styrofoam remains a big problem for landfills and recycling centres, because the Styrofoam breaks up into microbeads and is a major contaminant.

Eligible Styrofoam products for drop-off include insulating materials, protective packaging from new furniture and lighting and food containers. Residents must also sort and wash the Styrofoam before it is brought to the centres. 

Marquis-Bissonnette thinks alternative means of recycling tough materials such as Styrofoam will have a huge impact on the city’s objective to significantly reduce materials that end up in the landfill. One ton of Styrofoam takes up as much space as 34 tons of household garbage in a landfill, according to the city’s press release. 

Marquis-Bissonnette encourages residents to store up their Styrofoam before transporting it to the two centres, which are located at 860 Boulevard de la Carrière and 26 Rue Pierre-Ménard.