• Environment
• Dorval

Friday, April 4, 2008

Commercial Recycling in the West Island - Taking Action Project

posted by SocialContext003 at 11h52

by Jessica Redler and Christina Sauro

As undergraduates at the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management, we are enrolled in a “Social Context of Business” class. I, Jessica Redler, along with my colleague, Christina Sauro, chose to examine a local company’s environmental practices.

We discovered that the major problem facing businesses in the West Island was recycling. In implementing our waste and energy reduction program, our chief obstacle was that the city of Dorval does not offer a commercial recycling program.

New information concerning Montreal landfills and waste management increased the urgency of our endeavour. By August 2008, Montreal’s last garbage dump, the Lachenaie landfill in Terrebonne, will be filled to capacity.

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay claims the city does not have the money for gasification and compost plants, and yet he believes the city can afford the substantial cost of transporting thousands of tons of waste across the border.

Of particular concern is that none of the municipalities offer a recycling program to commercial establishments. The average office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of paper per year and generates an astounding two pounds of paper waste daily!

On March 31, my colleague and I attended the Dorval city council meeting, where we raised the issue of commercial recycling. We also presented a signed petition by local businesses supporting the initiative of developing a commercial recycling program. The audience erupted in applause as we presented the petition to the mayor. We urge all Dorval and West Island residents to raise this issue in their neighbourhoods.