Greening the Way We Live

Plastic bag policy

Citizens of Deux-Montagnes avoided sending 1.5 million plastic bags to landfills in 2010. This amount represents almost 30 tons of plastic which could have made its way into the environment without the continued efforts of the population.  This is the first full year of implementation of the regulation which bans the distribution of plastic bags for single use by businesses in the city. Since July 2009, citizens have been using reusable bags for all their purchases over the entire territory while business owners offer their customers reusable or paper bags at the checkout.

In 2006, the City of Deux-Montagnes began a vast Greening Campaign aimed at reducing the quantity of garbage produced and increasing the recuperation rate on the territory, hence contributing towards reaching, by 2008, the 60% waste reduction objective set by the provincial government.

Distribution of rollout bins

In view of this objective, the vast Greening Campaign was divided into several phases, the first of which consisted of distributing new 360-litre rollout bins, free of charge, for garbage collection. To that effect, let’s recall the forward-looking initiative of the City of Deux-Montagnes to offer its citizens the choice of switching their bins’ roles – in other words, transforming their smaller 240-litre rollout bin into a garbage bin and using their new 360-litre rollout bin for recycling – an invitation taken up by over 1,000 families.

Today, the use of rollout bins for the collection of garbage and recyclable matter helps to keep our city cleaner, reduce unpleasant odours and facilitate collection operations, resulting in reduced costs.

More recuperation !

In an endless effort to increase the recuperation rate on its territory, the City of Deux-Montagnes has introduced two new services: the collection of organic matter and the collection of bulk waste. These two new collection services are in addition to other services (lien vers Gestion du territoire) offered by the city to deter a maximum of our domestic wastes away from dumpsites.

New regulation

Automatic garbage collection was implemented throughout our city’s territory on April 1st, 2007. Consequently, the rollout bin is mandatory for all types of homes. The only exception: residential buildings with 6 or more housing units, who must discard domestic waste in garbage containers. Hence, only matter discarded in a rollout bin compatible with automated collection will be collected. Garbage bags or other non-compliant containers will not be picked up.

The Greening campaign: a way of life, a human value, a political value

Environment is a major concern in the City of Deux-Montagnes. Of course, adopting better domestic waste management practices throughout the territory is an essential step towards protecting our environment.  With the same focus in mind, other green projects are scheduled for implementation in the years to come…