Quebec commission will take a deep dive into garbage and how the province manages it

MONTREAL — Quebec is about to take a good long look at garbage.

The province's Office of Public Hearings on the Environment is launching a commission of inquiry into long-term management of waste. The inquiry is being held at the request of Environment Minister Benoit Charette and will examine the current state of waste management and how it will develop over the next 20 years.

Specifically, the inquiry will look into “ultimate waste,” or waste that remains after sorting, recovery and development.

Commission president Joseph Zayed said that the volume of residual materials in landfills has decreased only slightly per inhabitant in recent years.

“In 2012, the landfill of residual materials totalled an average of 725 kilograms per inhabitant. In 2018, residual materials totalled 700 kilograms per inhabitant,” he said.

“Our objective as a commission is to shed light on and identify the main trends over time horizons of five to 10 years and project into the future for the next 20 years.”

Zayed will be supported by commissioners Julie Forget and Pierre Renaud.

Public hearings will be held as part of the consultation and Indigenous communities will be consulted.

The commission's mandate will begin on March 8 and public hearings will begin March 23. Questionnaires will be send to disposal site managers and workshops will be organized.

A report must be submitted to the Minister by Dec. 22.

In its 2019-2024 action plan, the Quebec government set an objective of reducing the material eliminated per capita to 525 kilograms or less by 2023.