Quebec delaying recycling targets: ‘Not a retreat from environmental objectives’

Quebec is delaying its recycling targets, less than two years after implementing a new system designed to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.

The province tells CityNews the changes aim to lower the recovery rates of certain plastics; lower the recycling rates for certains plastics and glass; postpone the implementation of the recovery rate from 2027 to 2030; eliminate the application of an interim recycling rate from 2027 to 2029; and revise the progression of the recycling rate for certain plastics.

Éco Entreprises Québec, the company in charge of collecting, sorting, and recycling across Quebec since January 2025, says it realized it would not be able to meet its targets.

“This decision is not a retreat from environmental objectives, but a recognition that some targets, as originally set, were not achievable under current system conditions,” communications director Anne-Julie Maltais told CityNews in a statement. “The government’s decision reflects both a reduction of certain recycling targets and an adjustment of timelines, including the postponement of the entry into force of some service obligations.”

Maltais explains part of the difficulty is that “not everything that goes into the blue bin is recycled the same way.

“Some materials are easier to recycle because the markets have existed for a long time. Others are more complex and still lack the proper facilities or buyers.

“These realities were shared openly with the government. Based on the same information, the conclusion was the same: some targets needed to be revised to reflect real system capacity, not theoretical performance.”

Éco Entreprises Québec says the decision allows Quebec to focus on better tracking of materials from the blue bin to final recyclers; stronger sorting performance and data quality; the development of recycling markets—especially for plastics; and gives Quebec time to prepare for a major scale‑up.

Another key change, the company explains, is the “gradual integration of recycling from institutions and businesses, like CEGEPs, universities and hospitals.”

“These sites already recycle in many cases, but through private systems that vary widely, focus mainly on high‑value materials like cardboard, and provide limited data,” Maltais wrote. “Their recycling streams are very different from household recycling and require new collection and processing models.

“Put simply, Quebec is moving from a recycling system designed 30 years ago to one that must manage a much wider range of materials, at twice the volume currently handled. The adjusted timeline is about making sure the system can deliver real results at that scale.”

Some Quebec businesses have complained about the costs related to the new recycling system.

The Quebec government has decided to delay recycling targets to 2027-2030 to give businesses breathing room.

“In 2025 and 2026, producers covered by the modernized curbside collection program must pay both retroactively under the old municipal compensation system (retroactive payments for 2024) and in real time under the modernized system,” a spokesperson for the Quebec Environment Ministry told CityNews. “This overlap, in addition to the financial pressure currently faced by these producers due to rising curbside collection costs and the current North American context, creates significant financial strain. A draft regulation will be proposed to give producers more time to provide service to industries, businesses, and institutions, and to reach the required rates for the most problematic materials.”