Innovative equipment in Quebec City Materials Recycling Facility marks a new era in glass recycling

Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) has inaugurated an innovative glass processing equipment as part of the implementation of its Innovative Glass Works plan. The Quebec City Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), which is operated by Société VIA, is among the five centres to receive cutting-edge equipment to lead experimental pilot projects with the aim to find a solution for 100% of the glass collected through curbside recycling.

Closing the glass recycling loop

Combining sorting and cleaning equipment in a single glass processing system, the technology developed by Krysteline Technologies and the related equipment installed by Québec equipment manufacturer Machinex will enable sorting centres to produce high-quality glass that meets the needs of conditioners and recyclers, which will now be able to more easily and cost-effectively reintegrate the glass into new products, including innovative ecomaterials. The installation of this new equipment in the Quebec City MRF has required total investments of $2,280,000 from ÉEQ ($1,9 M), Société VIA ($300,000) and Ville de Québec ($80,000).

"The experimental pilot projects led as part of ÉEQ's Innovative Glass Works plan are an exceptional showcase for Québec in terms of innovation and circular economy," affirmed Maryse Vermette, president and CEO of ÉEQ. "The major investments by the organizations that fund curbside recycling, which we represent, will benefit all stakeholders in the recycling industry. This is a mobilizing project and we are very pleased to work in close collaboration with the government, municipalities, sorting centres and innovative businesses to develop glass recycling markets."

"For a large sorting centre such as ours, which processes over 10,000 tonnes of glass per year, the benefits of this new technology are significant", confirmed Jean-Sébastien Daigle, president and CEO of Société VIA, the non-profit organization that manages the Quebec City MRF. "Now that we can provide high-quality glass to conditioners and recyclers, the doors are wide open for new ecomaterials made with recycled glass".  

About the Innovative Glass Works plan 

Announced in January 2016, the Innovative Glass Works plan aims to find a concrete solution for 100% of the glass collected through curbside recycling in Québec. The plan includes investments of $6.7 M to upgrade sorting centres across the province and set up experimental pilot projects so that they may produce higher quality glass, as well as support measures for businesses seeking to develop new ecomaterials and outlets for glass collected through curbside recycling. The following sorting centres are involved in the initiative:

• Quebec City Materials Recycling Facility operated by Société VIA in Québec (Capitale-Nationale)
• EBI Environnement inc. in Saint-Paul (Lanaudière)
• Tricentris - tri, transformation, sensibilisation in Terrebonne (Lanaudière)
• La régie intermunicipale de traitement des matières résiduelles de la Gaspésie in Grande-Rivière (Gaspésie)
• Récupération Frontenac in Thetford Mines (Chaudière-Appalaches)

These five centres alone process approximately 25% of all the glass containers that Québecers place in their recycling bins. With the new equipment, the centres will produce glass of outstanding purity in two sizes that will facilitate the material's transformation into a range of added-value ecomaterials: abrasives, mineral wool, cement and concrete additives, ornamental mulch, water filtration agents, fillers, green paving stone and cellular glass for use in infrastructures and sports fields.