Since the planet is limited in resources, it is impossible to base the economic system on unlimited growth in the exploitation of raw materials. The unbridled rate of exploitation of the planet's resources driven by the capitalist growth model goes far beyond the rate of regeneration of natural ecosystems. Overshoot Day is a relevant indicator of the time of year when resource exploitation exceeds the carrying capacity of ecosystems. This date, which was December 29th in 1970, moved up to August 2nd in 2018 and continues to advance progressively year by year.
To reduce society's dependence on natural resources, it is necessary to maximize the use of resources over their entire life cycle and minimize their end-of-life impacts. The circular economy proposes to circulate resources within the market, increase society's wealth, boost corporate profits, and reduce the environmental impact of over-consumption.
With this in mind, several companies are taking the lead in residual materials management (RMM) projects, in which actions to reduce the discharge of RM and optimized means to control the end-of-life management of materials are implemented.
How do companies promote and participate in the reduction of PM emissions? This article aims to explain how companies have a key role to play in the current national targets for reducing NCM emissions, and how their involvement will have a positive impact.
Quebec is currently in a phase of rapid transition when it comes to residual materials management. Several issues are putting pressure on the country's waste management system:
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the production of residual materials, due to the increased consumption of single-use products following containment.
According to Recyc-Québec's sector report published in February 2021, the total quantity of residual materials disposed of in 2019 was 6,139,000 tonnes. This is a 9.1% increase on the 5,627,000 tonnes disposed of in 2015. Quebec's latest greenhouse gas inventory dates back to 2017, and shows that GHG emissions from waste represent 4.6Mt eqCO2, or 5.8% of overall emissions, especially since organic matter buried and decomposing without oxygen produces biogas composed of methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent thanCO2. It is therefore becoming apparent that sustained growth in RM production will have a significant impact on Quebec's environmental performance.
Bill 65, passed unanimously by the Quebec National Assembly on March 11, 2021, brings several important changes to the EQA, mainly concerning the deposit and selective collection systems. This bill aims to modernize these two systems to enable greater recovery of all beverage containers, regardless of their composition. As a result, when the extended deposit system is implemented in December 2022, over four billion beverage containers will be subject to the deposit system, whether made of plastic, glass, metal, or multi-layer cardboard.
The modernization of the selective collection system, for its part, aims to recover more recoverable RM, enabling better and more efficient recycling, from a circular economy and social economy perspective. Its gradual implementation is scheduled for December 2024. Both reforms will be implemented through an extended producer responsibility approach. This implies that companies will become responsible for the containers, packaging, printed matter, and newspapers they put on the market, until the end of their useful life. The impact of these changes can be significant for manufacturing companies.
What's more, the situation at Quebec's landfill sites is critical. The main sites are filling up fast and approaching their maximum capacity. For this reason, several TLS expansion projects have been proposed to the Bureau des audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) in recent years.
Another issue is linked to the closure in 2017 of Asian markets that used to buy recyclable RM, mainly plastic. This closure has had a major impact on RMM in Quebec. As a result of this closure, Quebec has accumulated 350,000 tonnes of recyclables annually. To relieve the sorting centers, it was necessary to send surplus recyclable inventories to landfills.
As illustrated by these issues, RMM in Quebec is set to change significantly over the next few years. Companies need to be proactive in the face of these changes, by prioritizing the reduction of waste generation at source, and by putting in place mechanisms for the responsible management of RMM.
By 2025, Benoit Charrette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC), has announced the government's objective of reducing by 50% the 17,000 tonnes of waste that are landfilled daily in the province. Given that more than a third of this material came from the industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sectors in 2019, according to Recyc-Québec's sector report published in February 2021, the efforts required of the ICI sector will be considerable.
While the scale of the task and the economic investment involved in a BMP approach may seem daunting, they also represent a formidable lever for innovation and savings for ICI.
1. Lower raw material purchasing and MR disposal costs
Purchasing raw materials is at the heart of every organization's processes. Yet a significant proportion of the raw materials consumed by companies do not end up as a saleable product. The cost of processing MR represents a major expense for the ICI sector. By reducing the amount of material sent to landfills, their processing and supply costs are systematically reduced. Improving the use of raw materials therefore has great potential for reducing procurement and disposal costs.
2. Adding value to certain MRs by creating synergies with external organizations
The range of opportunities for reusable and recyclable materials is constantly evolving. RM from one company can be used as a raw material for another if a synergy between the organizations is established. In this way, an expense in RMM can become an income.
Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Interface, Wal-Mart, Kraft, Ford, Kimberly Clark, and many others are achieving zero waste to landfill (ZLF) at many of their facilities, resulting in huge savings and even new revenue streams. General Motors' various recycling activities generated more than $2.5 billion in revenues between 2007 and 2010. The sale of scrap metal now brings in $1 billion a year. This figure is in addition to the value obtained by reusing and repurposing materials within the company's operations.
3. Managing the risk of GMR cost volatility
It is also becoming advantageous for companies to integrate a RMM approach to control the financial risks of potentially volatile RM treatment costs. Waste treatment costs rise as regulations become more stringent, and transport and landfill costs increase as landfills reach maximum capacity. In addition, the cost of purchasing materials rises as they become scarcer and their supplies less reliable.
To differentiate themselves from the market and be leaders in the transition of the economic system towards a system of material circularity, companies need to implement practices following the 3RVE prioritization.
To judiciously plan the implementation of materials management solutions, it is advisable to begin the process with a residual materials assessment. This provides information on the quantity and types of materials generated by the company's activities. Based on this information, and on the residual materials reduction targets set by the company, the means of reduction must be judiciously chosen according to the 3RVE prioritization. This strategic hierarchy makes it possible to prioritize the means of reducing residual materials to optimize the use of resources. This optimization is carried out from a materials life-cycle perspective, for the entire value chain of the company.
Companies must also act as influencers within their value chain, to create pressure on stakeholders. A rigorous sourcing policy can influence suppliers to integrate a level of performance from their RMM and raw materials. In addition, companies can engage in sector-specific initiatives promoting circularity of materials. Undertaking a network of synergies between sector-based companies not only helps to optimize resource use and reduce residual materials but also considerably reduces GHG emissions linked to the transportation of raw and residual materials.
The approach proposed by COESIO can be broken down into three phases:
Our team is at your disposal to help you take advantage of the opportunities offered by sound management of your residual materials with a view to the circular economy.
Written by :
Jean-Philippe Lanctôt, Analyst
