Pointe-Claire not renewing its No. 6 polystyrene pilot project

As company pulls out, city eyes options, asks residents to place it in regular trash

A Pointe-Claire pilot project to collect No. 6 polystyrene will not be renewed.

The company in charge of the pilot project collection did not want to continue, so the city is studying options for future polystyrene No. 6 collection. In the meantime, residents are asked to place it in the regular garbage.

The list of plastic items made out of polystyrene No. 6 is long, so the best way to verify is to look for the engraved No. 6 on packaging or containers. Yogurt containers; CD and DVD clams; pots for plants; clear-plastic dome covers for takeout food; insulation panels and flip-top containers holding fruits and vegetables are just a few of the items bearing the number 6.

Polystyrene is non-biodegradable. Finding ways to dispose of it in an environmentally-friendly fashion continues to challenge waste-management experts. The sheer volume of the plastic being tossed out worldwide is fast becoming an ecological nightmare. Especially the No. 6 variety.

Pointe-Claire spokesperson Marie-Pier Paquette Séguin said expanded and extruded polystyrene are still being accepted at the bins located at the Public Works yard, 50 Terra-Cotta Ave.

Expanded polystyrene includes takeout coffee cups, coolers and packaging for appliances and electronics.

Extruded polystyrene includes trays used for packaging fish, meat and poultry.

Polystyrene materials must be clean when dropped off at collection spots, and absorbent pads, tape and labelling must be removed. Dirty containers or packaging will be sent to landfill.

IN OTHER GARBAGE NEWS

Pointe-Claire’s hazardous waste drop-off takes place in the parking lot behind Pointe-Claire City Hall, 451 Blvd. St-Jean, May 12-13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For details on what is being accepted, visit www.pointe-claire.ca/en/collections.

Dorval is offering polystyrene No. 6 collection for the first time this year. The collection will take place during its spring hazardous waste and electronics drop-off day, April 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The drop-off point is the Ballantyne Park parking lot, 520 Bouchard Blvd. For details about what hazardous waste is being accepted, visit www.ville.dorval.qc.ca. For details about what electronics are being collected, visit www.recyclemyelectronics.ca/qc.

Dollard-des-Ormeaux is also collecting polystyrene No. 6. in the Civic Centre parking lot, 12001 De Salaberry Blvd., April 28-29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For details about the collection in Dollard, visit www.ville.ddo.qc.ca/en/news/recycling-polystyrene-plasticno-6.

Beaconsfield has a permanent drop-off spot for polystyrene No. 6. It is the result of a collaboration with the company Polyform and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

The drop-off point is behind the Public Works building at 300 Beaurepaire Dr. Hazardous waste drop-off in Beaconsfield takes place April 21-22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Beaconsfield High School parking lot, 250 Beaurepaire Dr. For details, visit www. beaconsfield.ca.

Every municipality has its hazardous waste and electronic waste collection day or days. For a list of collection days for some of the other West Island municipalities, including Kirkland and Baie-D’Urfé, visit or contact your local town hall for details.