Montreal sets sights on large apartment buildings with new composting plan

The City of Montreal is bringing composting to apartments and condominiums with nine units or more.

For now, though, it will only be available in select buildings in four boroughs: Montréal-Nord, Saint-Laurent, the Sud-Ouest and Ville-Marie.

Up to 4,000 units will be tested in each of the boroughs before it is made available more widely.

Jean-François Parenteau, the city's executive committee member responsible for the environment and citizen services, said the goal is to make composting available to all residents by 2025.

The service has been available in smaller buildings across the city since last year.

Parenteau said big apartments come with particular challenges, and the testing period will allow the city to figure out what works best.

Alan DeSousa, the mayor of Saint-Laurent, said it will be a learning process for his borough and the residents involved, some of whom are likely to face language and cultural barriers.

"We will working with local community groups to [inform] all of the residents as to what goes and what doesn't go in," he said.

Konan Honoré Kondro, who lives in an apartment on Ouimet Street in Saint-Laurent where residents will soon be able to compost, said he was pleased with the announcement.

"We can't fight against pollution if we don't have the means to do so," he said. 

Last year, Montreal committed to cutting the amount of garbage sent to landfills by 70 per cent by 2025, and by 85 per cent by 2030.

Compostable material makes up roughly 55 per cent of what now goes in the garbage, Parenteau said.

A spokesperson for the Real Estate Owners Corporation of Quebec, which has roughly 25,000 members, expressed concern composting could be difficult in some apartment buildings.

"The majority of our members are concerned about the smells and cleanliness if it becomes available in larger buildings," said Hans Brouillette.