New recycling sorting centre in Montreal to serve as a model in Quebec

A new state-of-the-art sorting centre was inaugurated in the east end of Montreal on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. It is considered to be the most automated in Quebec. (Frédéric Lacroix-Couture/The Canadian Press) (Frédéric Lacroix-Couture/The Canadian Press)

Quebec’s sorting centre for recyclable materials is now in operation. The new facility in the east end of Montreal is intended to serve as a model for future projects in the province.

The centre, managed by Matrec-GFL, will be able to process around 150,000 tons of containers, packaging and printed matter every year. It features a large amount of state-of-the-art equipment, making sorting work more efficient.

In operation since early January, the new centre was officially inaugurated on Friday afternoon in the presence of Benoit Charette, Minister for the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.

“This is the first modernized sorting centre in Quebec with the most advanced technology in Canada,” said the head of the organization newly responsible for the province’s selective collection system.

“For us, this will be a laboratory to ensure that we can develop a network of efficient sorting centres to properly manage the material that citizens put in their recycling bins,” said Maryse Vermette, CEO of Éco Entreprises Québec.

Construction took just under a year and was financed entirely by the private sector.

The Quebec government, for its part, has specified the rules governing the quality and outlets for the materials that will be taken back by the recovery companies,’ said Charette.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 7, 2025.