Open letter signed by Jules Foisy Lapointe, General Manager, GoRecycle
Earth Month helps raise awareness of our impact on the environment and allows us to make things better for the planet by looking for concrete ways to reduce our environmental footprint.
It’s clear that some Quebecers are discouraged or even exhausted knowing that their daily actions have little or no effect on the climate crisis. This feeling was possibly reinforced with the publication of the IPCC’s latest report, which highlights the urgency to act to avoid the worst.
However, concrete and very real solutions exist.
Did you know that the simple act of properly recycling your cooling appliance through the GoRecycle program has a major impact on the environment?
Thanks to the 260 free drop-off points across the province and the pickup and recycling service with the purchase of a new refrigerator or freezer from one of our 90 partner banners, we have put in place simple and accessible solutions that have a major positive impact on the environment. The aim of these solutions is to prevent people from leaving their cooling appliances by the side of the road, which is very harmful for the environment.
Every appliance left by the side of the road generates an average of 1 tonne of GHGs, since, most of the time, it is recycled without being properly processed. This is approximately equivalent to the amount of CO2 generated by a car travelling 4,500 kilometres.
In fact, entrusting your cooling appliance to GoRecycle is one of the most important actions in the fight against climate change in Quebec.
We’re proud to see that more and more citizens are joining GoRecycle’s mission. In addition to doing the right thing when it comes time to recycle a cooling appliance, Quebecers are demonstrating a better understanding of the issues related to recycling.
A Léger survey conducted last November reported a significant increase in the number of Quebecers who know that cooling appliances generate greenhouse gases when they are improperly recycled. The survey also revealed that many Quebecers would not leave their cooling appliances by the side of the road, since they know that they would not be properly recycled and that they are highly polluting. These figures are encouraging and prove that citizens are ready to take the necessary measures to reverse this trend.
Despite these encouraging findings, it is estimated that over 300,000 appliances are left on sidewalks each year, an unacceptable number given that the consequences of this action are extremely harmful for the planet. It is the equivalent of 108 Airbus A380s filled to capacity circling the globe.
In the past two years, the GoRecycle team has committed to the cause, with the ambitious mission of providing the only legal and responsible solution to the issues of recycling cooling appliances in Quebec.
By combining our efforts, our team is convinced that it can make significant changes that will have a positive impact by doing the right thing, namely properly recycling cooling appliances.
Earth Month is the perfect opportunity to get inspired and think about the best ways of improving our habits when it comes to the environment. If you haven’t already done so, join the GoRecycle movement and help us spread the word so that no cooling appliances are left by the side of the road this spring.
Signed by Jules Foisy Lapointe, General Manager, GoRecycle
