Montreal, January 20, 2020 – Les amis de la montagne introduced a vision for the roll-out of an innovative, effective waste management plan for all Mount Royal parks today, as part of the public consultation on Montreal’s 2020-25 Waste Management Master Plan.

Photo Frédérique Ménard-Aubin

This consultation is led by the City’s Commission sur l’eau, l’environnement, le développement durable et les grands parcs. Mount Royal is one of Montreal’s most popular locations. Its urban forest is vulnerable to natural threats as well as the impacts of park visitation by several million people each year. Les amis de la montagne would like for garbage removal on the mountain, particularly in Mount Royal Park which still uses receptacles dating back to the 1950s, to be adapted to best practices in trash management and recycling that take into account park attendance as well as environmental conservation requirements. The collective reflection on the master plan entitled Plan de gestion des matières résiduelles 2020-2025 (PDGMR), is an opportunity to update the waste management strategy in Montreal’s major parks.

"We believe the ongoing public consultation about the 2020-25 waste management master plan is a great opportunity to rethink trash management and recycling in Mount Royal’s public parks. This reflection might also be useful in paving the way towards the adoption of an exemplary strategy for all Greater Montreal parks."
-Hélène Panaïoti, Executive Director, Les amis de la montagne

Les amis is proposing 3 focus areas, 4 key recommendations and 18 measures, namely within the PDGMR’s Collecte des matières recyclables hors foyer initiative. The three focus areas are governance, innovative & effective trash removal facilities, as well as cooperation, awareness-building and citizen involvement. In addition to being an effective means of supporting the resilience of the mountain’s natural habitats, the measures supporting the implementation of outside-the-home trash removal in our major parks would be a powerful driver for reaching the municipal government’s zero waste targets.

Les amis de la montagne believes that this initiative’s success depends on our collective ability to raise awareness among Mount Royal park-goers and to ensure that they become change agents.