Last August, the MRC of Brome-Missisquoi and its Environmental Management Department, launched a project at the regional Ecocentre in Cowansville to create a new “reuse space,” in collaboration with the Régie intermunicipale de gestion des matières résiduelles de Brome-Missisquoi.

With a boom in construction, renovation and demolition (CRD) projects throughout the pandemic, the reuse space is meant to divert the mass amount of CRD material that is good condition from the landfill to give it a second life. 

The reuse space also welcomes bulky items such as doors, windows, furniture, sports equipment, and more. People can drop their items off at the reuse space and they can take other things they may need from the space free of charge. 

Oriana Familiar, environmental management service coordinator and sustainable development advisor for the MRC and CLD of Brome-Missisquoi, told CIDI that between August and December 2022, the reuse space saved 26,000 kilograms of material from going to the dump. 

Other phases of the project are in the works and the MRC encourages all Brome-Missisquoi citizens to take advantage of the space.

“The Ecocentre has been here for many, many years, even before the pandemic. Specifically in 2019, besides the site in Cowansville, we had other sites as well. For example, we had one in Sutton, in Brome Lake, also in Bromont, in Farnham, but with the pandemic some local Ecocentres started to close,” said Familiar. “So, we decided to concentrate all of our efforts at the regional one here in Cowansville.”

Familiar noted that there were two reasons for launching the reuse space at the Ecocentre. 

“One, there was a program with the government that gave grants so  different municipalities or MRCs could expand the services they were currently offering at their Ecocentre, but it was also in terms of what the pandemic brought. People were in lockdown and then they all had renovation, construction, demolition projects,” she said. “All of a sudden citizens had a lot of construction material that they wanted to get rid of or that they needed.”

Familiar mentioned that the amount of CRD material is high across Quebec. 

“But specifically in Brome-Missisquoi, we are sort of in a construction boom. There is a lot of this material right now and there wasn’t much that was being done,” she highlighted. “That’s why we decided to target this type of material. Pretty much all of the other categories were covered and this was one of the categories that needed to be properly addressed.”

Within five months of launching the project, 26,000 kilograms of CRD material was diverted from the landfill, equivalent to about 1,300 doors. 

“We are still waiting for the January reports and the February reports since it’s not done yet. (…) This is just the beginning. People are just starting to learn about this space so imagine how far we can go if we continue our efforts,” said Familiar.

While the reuse space targets CRD materials, other items are accepted. 

“Anything that is bulky, that is big, we try to put in this space. The small items yes, we can do something about it, but there’s already options available out there. For example, all of the thrift stores that are already doing the little toys, decorations, and dish-ware. We don’t want to be in competition with them, we want to help, and complete, what they offer,” said Familiar. 

Those that visit the Ecocentre and the reuse space have to go through a specific process upon arrival. Identification is required to prove that someone is a citizen of Brome-Missisquoi. 

“You go through the main entrance as if you were going to the Ecocentre for other materials (…) and then you declare at the entrance what you have. If you declare that you have stuff to the reuse space, they will direct you to that area,” explained Familiar. “Once you get there, there is a deposit area. People are not allowed to go place the items themselves.”

Familiar emphasized that this is “a very important step.”

“Somebody else, someone from the staff, will weight them, sort them, and place them for other people to take. It’s an important step because we need to keep track of the tonnage to be able to demonstrate that it’s actually working and to keep stats of how much we are diverting from waste,” she said. 

For now, the reuse space is open to all citizens of Brome-Missisquoi, "but we have other phases that we are thinking about," Familiar told CIDI. 

“For example, all the non-profit organizations and community services that could have access to this space. They deal with a certain clientele or families that need furniture, or doors, to do a little renovations, or they have children that have needs in terms of sports equipment. We also try to help the community, so that will be another phase,” said Familiar. 

Familiar added that if the MRC is eventually able to expand the reuse space and get the work force that is needed, they’d also like to open it up to the industries that are in the area. 

“They’re the ones that also have tons of industrial waste. Even if they don’t work specifically in the construction sector, it could be an industry that did renovations and all of sudden changed its furniture. They could have access to the space as well,” she said. 

Apart from the reuse space, the Ecocentre offers a variety of services that Familiar encourages citizens to take advantage of. 

“People always think about the traditional categories like my batteries, my lights bulbs, my empty paint cans, but people can come here also (…) to take stuff from the reuse space, but also from the compost for example,” she said. (…) That’s the beauty of this space is that people can leave stuff, but they can also take and take advantage from their own efforts.” 

The reuse space and the regional Ecocentre in Cowansville are open all year round. For more information and the schedule, visit the website. 

Listen to the full interview below: