Montreal is entering a new era where clear skies have been replaced with smoky horizons. What was once a distant future concern has turned into a hot reality. Giant swaths of Quebec forests are burning and Montreal even held the unfortunate distinction of having the most polluted air in the world at the start of July.
The global climate is warming too, and you can feel it. Earth's hottest day ever was just recorded this week… three days in a row.
As the mercury rises, you may find yourself grappling with a sense of helplessness. After all, when you're told that 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from just 100 companies, it's easy to feel like a mere drop in a rapidly warming ocean.
But you are more than a bystander and can rise to the climate challenge faster than the temperature. Small, consistent changes — carrying a reusable bag, bringing your own travel mug, composting at home — collectively have a profound impact.
Every eco-friendly action sends out ripples that can grow into a wave of change. Here are some places to start:
Get thrifty with your threads
Fast fashion hurts the world, dumping chemicals in rivers and employing shady labour practices to meet massive demand while undercutting the price of new styles. Cheap retailer Shein recently faced scandal after footage emerged of child workers and inhumane conditions at a factory in China. The company responded by sending influencers to a different factory in an attempt to sterilize their image, but it didn’t fool anyone.
The only way to get new clothes that cheap is to dig into your nearest Renaissance for finds that still have the price tag, or try one of Montreal's many clothing swaps. You can also rent a Halloween costume to prevent wearing the novelty outfit once before tossing it out.
Recharge the planet one battery at a time
While out thrifting at Renaissance, don’t forget to bring your batteries. With over 60 donation centres in Quebec, Renaissance now joins the ranks of 1,900 public battery collection sites in the province. A visit to any of these spots helps keep batteries out of landfills and also boosts Quebec's drive towards a circular economy.
Batteries contain hazardous chemicals and metals that can leach into groundwater and poison waterways. Save them in a bag, jar, or container for when you go thrifting.
Quebec recycled a whopping 1.4 million kilograms of batteries in 2022 and is now proudly at the forefront of battery recycling among all Canadian provinces. You can check out recycleyourbatteries.ca to find the closest drop-off location, likely within 15 km of your home.
Join the AI-powered recycling revolution
High-tech sensors sort items using blasts of air.
Courtesy of Société Via.
Montreal has a sci-fi-esque new recycling centre that's transforming trash into high-tech treasure. Société VIA uses an intelligent blend of machine learning, AI, and optical sorting technology, to make sure every tossed recyclable is launched onto the correct sorting conveyer belt by jets of compressed air .
But the real magic happens behind the scenes. Once every item has been scrutinized and approved by rigorous quality control, four Quebec-based facilities take over. They function with clockwork precision, sorting 600 products every minute and turning them into 2000lb bales of recyclables, with nearly 99% purity.
By boosting both the collection rate and volume, Société VIA is fueling profitability, breathing new life into the recycling scene, and sparing landfills from being choked by valuable, reusable materials.
Robotic sorting arms now handle the heavy lifting, ensuring a safer and less monotonous work environment. Despite the automation, however, the human touch is still needed.
By knowing what to recycle and where to take non-recyclable items, you become a vital player in recycling success. Check out Montreal’s website for more information on what's recyclable and what needs to go to an eco-centre, and help write the next chapter of this recycling revolution.
Test two wheels for twelve months
Not only are BIXI bikes available year-round in Montreal, but they are pedalling their way into Terrebonne, injecting a fresh breath of eco-friendly commuting. There's no need to worry that your bike will get stolen, plus they're affordable and a good workout. For the uninitiated, a quick peek at the station map is all you need to plan your journey.
But the BIXI revolution doesn't stop there. In an exciting move to celebrate Montreal's festival scene, Loto-Québec is sponsoring 30-minute BIXI rides — completely free of charge — during major events. That means you can jazz up your commute during Jazz Fest on July 8, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., inject some humour into your ride during Just For Laughs on July 29, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and show your pride at Fierté Montréal on August 13, from noon to 3 p.m.
Flush away emissions
Sewage pipes.
Don't be a drip. Turn off the tap, nix those lingering showers, and whatever you do, do not flush wet wipes.
The Saint Lawrence River is disaffectionately known as the "Pooey Louie" and for good reason. Back in 2015, a staggering 8 billion litres of untreated sewage ended up in the river due to construction work on the sewage pipeline. An alarming volume of raw sewage still tumbles into the river each year even though Montreal is home to the world's third-largest wastewater treatment facility.
And if you thought that was a stinky situation, how about the monstrous amount of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere by four towering incinerators, feasting daily on… yes, poop.
Montreal's game-changing solution to this crappy conundrum is the world's largest ozonation plant. The colossal facility will slash emissions from sewage incineration by an incredible 90% by filtering and purifying the city's entire sewage output (and even half of Quebec's)! It's not just a breath of fresh air, it's a whole new approach to managing our muck.
Turn scrap into art
The Concordia University Center for Creative Reuse is open to the public and offers appointments to visit the Concordia Used Material Depot, which provides recycled materials to use in its making space.
Another great spot to go to channel your crafty side instead of buying new products is BANQ’s Fab Lab. They are happy to help you craft anything if you bring in your own materials. You can also borrow a number of strange items for free from the library, instead of buying your own.
Take the "Plastic Free July Challenge"
Try to go a whole month without using or buying any single-use plastics. There are many ways you can change the items that you use every day to ones that are biodegradable. Local company compostable.ca has a range of products that you can replace with compostable alternatives. They even have wrapping paper, stickers, and tape! It can be as simple as finding ways to get a few more uses out of something before it gets recycled.
Whether it's sidestepping an unwanted contribution to the "Pooey Louie" or gearing up for a BIXI adventure on a frosty morning, there's an eco-hero in you waiting to spring into action. And the city needs all the help it can get. We've got a tall order from the COP27 climate conference: cut emissions by 55% come 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Burning fossil fuels traps heat, filling the air with CO2 and giving us sweaty summers. Plants do their bit, sipping up carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen, but they could use a little backup. So swapping to electric vehicles from combustion engines works toward offsetting the output of carbon into the atmosphere, known as carbon neutrality.
Here's to making the future less about carbon footprints and more about green leaps forward. That's an ending worth toasting — with a reusable cup, of course.
