Through its support and consultation service, VertCité provides environmental education to the residents and institutions of Pierrefonds-Roxboro. We believe that events must be paired with concrete actions to raise awareness. We hope that our projects result in real and lasting environmental change.

Projects are grouped into the following key areas: eco-citizenship, climate change, biodiversity, water, waste management, active transportation, greening, and green committees.

Most of our projects are modular and adapted to different target audiences (children in daycare, preschool and primary school students, teenagers, adults, seniors). Contact us for more information on our support service.

Our Objectives

Our service aims to help implement small or large environmental projects.
Our main objective is to empower, develop a sense of initiative and raise public awareness about certain environmental issues.

Our support service aims to:

• Promote eco-citizenship through environmental education
• Help communities bring about sustainable structural change
• Empower people in charge to become multiplying agents

Educational Projects

All our projects have been designed to meet the skills, learning and knowledge required by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in the Quebec Education Program.

If you have ideas that are off the beaten path, don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can work together and answer all your questions!

BLUE AND GREEN PATROLS

Patrols are made up of young people between the ages of 17 and 30 who patrol the streets of Saint-Laurent and other Montréal neighbourhoods during the summer to raise awareness about environmental issues. They focus mainly on forest conservation, smart waste management, responsible water consumption and rainwater management.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PATROL – ORGANIC WASTE COLLECTION

Drawing from our management experience, we implemented two environmental awareness patrols to spread the word about organic waste collection in the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro during the summer. Patrollers are called upon to organize outreach activities with citizens of all ages on the benefits of composting. Whether they visit events or go door to door, patrollers always succeed in reaching a maximum number of people.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PATROL – ECO-FRIENDLY EVENTS

Every event produces a carbon footprint. As an environmental organization, we have the experience and expertise to help you reduce your carbon footprint. On the day of your event, we can dispatch one of our environmental awareness patrols to ensure proper waste management. You will then know how much greenhouse gases are produced.

The borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro offers a subsidy of up to $100 for the purchase or rental of cloth baby diapers in partnership with the éco-quartier Pierrefonds-Roxboro. This subsidy encourages the use of washable diapers, which helps reduce the amount of household waste sent to waste disposal sites while preserving our natural resources.

Useful links:

• About the subsidy program
• Application form

Every spring, the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, in partnership with the éco-quartier Pierrefonds-Roxboro, gives out free compost, flowers and wood chips on Gardening and Environment Day. Collected organic matter is transformed into natural fertilizer for flower and vegetable gardens as well as cultivated and cultivable areas.

Bring your own containers and a proof of residency to borough offices located at 13665 Pierrefonds Blvd on Gardening and Environment Day. To find out when this event is held, visit the borough’s social media or website.

Thanks to an initiative of the Regroupement des éco-quartiers (REQ) and Société de verdissement du Montréal métropolitain (Soverdi), residents may purchase one or more trees for $25 ($35 for fruit trees) in the spring or fall.

For more information, visit Un arbre pour mon quartier.

The éco-quartier Pierrefonds-Roxboro organizes several cleanups every year. It also lends equipment if you wish to organize a cleanup event with friends or neighbours!

Tools such as rakes, shovels and brooms are available at the éco-quartier. Contact us if you are a resident, institution, business or industry in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Reducing at the source

The best piece of trash is the one that never existed in the first place. Therefore, to reduce our consumption means to reduce our waste. In addition to reducing the negative impacts on the environment, we produce savings. Here are some suggestions:

• Before buying something, ask yourself if you really need it.
• Ask yourself if the product is of quality and durable.
• Buy durable products that can be re-used several times instead of being thrown out after a single usage.
• Reduce waste produced, when making purchases, avoid excessively packaged articles or choose items that can be bought in bulk.
• Buy products made from recycled or used materials.
• Buy products which can be recycled. Avoid polystyrene (Styrofoam) the #6 plastic which is not recycled in Montreal.
• Rent or borrow equipment that you would use infrequently, rather than buying it.
• Donate items that are no longer useful to you rather than throwing them away.
• Avoid plastic bags: Bring a cloth bag and especially refuse a plastic bag if you don’t really need it.
• Use an ecological lunch box.
• Use reusable dishware such as reusable cups, plates and utensils.
• Refuse Junk mail and advertisement bags by affixing a sticker on your mailbox.
• Replace disposable batteries by rechargeable batteries.
• Use long lasting compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Transform torn or stained linens into rags for cleaning.
• Repair broken or damaged items rather than throwing them out.
• Exchange books, linen, etc, between friends and/or family.
• Write on both sides of a sheet of paper.

Re-use or Re-furbish

The re-furbishing is the fixing up and re-use of an object. Several of your house articles can be re-used.

Suggestions:

• Buy durable products that can be repaired and re-used.
• Re-use your grocery bags by bringing them with you the next time you go shopping.
• Re-use storage pots and containers
• Exchange and share your material with others. For example, why not share a mower and snow blower between neighbours?
• Buy second hand furniture, clothing, etc. Many stores sell second hand objects that work well.
• Give the pieces of furniture, household appliances, computer material, books, toys, clothing, etc. that you do not need anymore to charitable organizations, or, have a garage sale.
• Bring your objects to one of the ecocentres. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure!
• Change the look of old furniture by covering it to make it match new furniture and to extend its life.

Useful resources :

• Pamphlet: Ecocentres in Montreal

Recycle

Do you know what materials can be put into your recycle bin?

• Paper
• Cardboard
• Metal
• Glass
• Plastic

Why recycle?

Recycling allows you:

• to save natural resources such as wood (paper, cardboard), oil (plastic), sand (glass);
• to save electricity and drinking water used to manufacture new products that recycling helps avoid. Certain waste is burned to produce heat (heating of houses) for factories;
• to reduce pollution because we don’t need to reproduce certain objects: bottles of glass, cans, etc. ie: We reduce the amount of dirty pollutants released in manufacturing thus reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.

Valorize

To give value to an item that would otherwise be considered waste, as is done during composting or vermicomposting. Come see us to buy a home composter and some equipment and to take advantage of our expertise.

Organic material collections details and schedule

>> Details about organic material collections in Pierrefonds-Roxboro

Cleanups

Cleanups can be organized by citizens or by the éco-quartier in response to a request from citizens. The éco-quartier can take part by loaning tools for cleaning (shovels, rakes, gloves, garbage bags, brooms…..)

Collection of large objects

In the borough, the contract for the collection of household waste also includes the collection of large objects such as stoves, couches, futons, carpets, televisions and other objects of the same kind.

Once deposited on the road, the objects are then brought to a dump site where their raw materials will go to waste. We invite citizens to reduce this waste and divert the objects from the dump sites by bringing them to the nearest ecocentres in the city of Montreal.

Collection of household hazardous waste (HHW)

Each year, the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro organizes a collection of household hazardous waste in the parking lot of the fire station on Pierrefonds Boulevard. Two collections are organized in the spring and two in the fall.

You can get the calendar with the dates of these collections at the éco-quartier as well as a list of the items accepted during this collection.

Some businesses also take back some types of hazardous waste in the borough, contact the éco-quartier to know the list or see the RESOURCES section.

In addition to the free distribution of compost, plants and wood chips organized in the spring during Gardening and Environment Day, the éco-quartier, in partnership with the Borough of Pierrefonds–Roxboro, raises awareness and informs the population and merchants in order to promote the “Les Fleurons du Québec” certification.

The éco-quartier is a partner with the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro in the education of citizens and businesses to promote the “Les Fleurons du Québec” certification.

The éco-quartier educates the population about graffiti by encouraging them to plant climbing plants such as roses and vines to dissuade unauthorized graffiti and to beautify the wall, we also encourage the creation of murals (community based authorized graffitis/paints).

Ragweed

In 2008, the green patrol distributed pamphlets on ragweed accompanied by facial tissue to all residents whose lawn was infested by this species. This was done to educate them at recognizing the plant and pulling it out for the benefit of the many people who suffer terrible allergies specifically from this plant.

Urban Vegetation

The presence of vegetation (plants, shrubs and trees) has a significant beneficial effect on the health of the borough’s natural environments, in addition to increasing the quality of life of its population.
For this reason, the eco-quartier distributes hundreds of native trees each year to promote urban biodiversity.
However, greening is not limited to trees, since each new plant contributes to the improvement of the urban flora.
We can all participate in the greening of building exteriors, rooftops, balconies, grounds and even the soil around public trees!

Cooling and purifying the air

Trees are a great way to protect against the sun’s rays as they reflect much of the ultraviolet radiation they receive. A mature tree also removes an average of 450 liters of water from the ground daily and releases it into the air in the form of water vapour, which helps to reduce temperatures in urban areas, as well as reducing wind speeds. Tree foliage also absorbs harmful gases such as ozone, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide (CO2), which it transforms into oxygen that purifies the atmosphere.

Relationship between heat and trees

Heat islands are a direct consequence of the loss of vegetation cover and the excessive presence of asphalt surfaces that store the sun’s heat. Replacing asphalt with trees and shrubs is therefore the best way to combat the scourge of heat islands in cities.

Avoiding flooding

Because of the use of concrete and asphalt in the construction of roads and buildings, urbanization often results in soil sealing. These materials prevent water from being naturally absorbed by the soil and therefore increase the risk of flooding. The presence of vegetated areas and trees, however, helps to counteract this phenomenon.

Vegetable gardens to make children playgrounds greener

The Pierrefonds-Roxboro éco-quartier encourages schools of the borough to make their schoolyards greener. The objective of becoming green is to improve the environmental health of the population by reducing impermeable zones. This action has many benefits: reduction of urban heat islands, collection of surface water and CO2, improvement of air quality, perches for birds, and many more. Vegetable gardens bring all this and produce healthy food!

The following are a couple of projects we implemented with some local schools:

• Planting with students at Harfang-des-Neiges elementary school.
• Planting and vegetable tasting with students from Lalande elementary school.

For information on collection schedules in your neighbourhood, consult the collections and recycling schedule for Pierrefonds-Roxboro or Info-collectes.

Organic matter accounts for 35% to 40% of the waste in our garbage bins. This includes kitchen scraps, green waste and other common biodegradable household waste. Composting makes it possible to recover this waste.

In 2016, Pierrefonds-Roxboro implemented the collection of organic waste for residential buildings of 8 units or less. Residences each received a brown bin and a small countertop bin. These containers are used to collect all organic matter, green waste and food residues so that they are treated properly.

The following types of organic waste are accepted:

• Food residues
• Soiled paper and cardboard
• Green waste
• Other types of waste (toothpicks, animal food and fur, feathers, hair, tissues, etc.)

For more information, see organic waste collection in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Household composting is another way to recover organic matter. 

Useful link: Handy Guide to Home Composting

Recycling consists in recovering certain types of residual materials in order to transform them industrially and give them a second life. All unsorted residual materials are collected in green bins.

What goes in the recycling bin?

Here are examples of materials that are accepted or refused by the City of Montréal in your green bin:

Accepted materials:

• Paper and cardboard (newspaper, boxes, magazines)
• Plastic other than number 6 (bags, containers, bottles)
• Metal (cans, aluminum)
• Glass (bottles, containers)

The following items are not accepted:

• Number 6 plastics
• Compostable plastic bags
• Binders, padded envelopes
• Wax paper, paper towels, plastic wrap
• Chip or cereal bags
• Soiled cardboard
• Toothpaste tubes
• Pots, pans or cake tins
• Stickers
• Diapers
• Broken tools, screws or nails
• Paint cans
• Batteries
• Mirrors, dishware and glassware

Contact us for more information on what you can or cannot put into your recycling bin.

The ecocentres in LaSalle and Saint-Laurent now recycle number 6 plastic (polystyrene). The following list shows the types of materials accepted at both sites:

Hazardous household waste (HHW) includes various common household products such as paints, used oils, solvents, batteries, pesticides, and cleaning products.

HHW, just like electronic devices (televisions, cell phones, computers, printers, etc.), must be recycled and treated separately and ecologically. To do so, simply drop off HHW and electronics at your local ecocentre, which recovers them free of charge.

Keep in mind:

• Since the implementation of environmental handling fees (EHF) in 2013, electronics retailers are obligated to recover electronic devices (similar to the types sold) at the end of their service life. See the list of authorized drop-off points.
• You can deposit the following items in our offices for recycling: batteries, CDs, DVDs (including cases), cell phones, ink cartridges, compact fluorescent lamps and lamps and corks (Pierrefonds-Roxboro only).

The closest ecocentre to Pierrefonds-Roxboro is located in the borough of Saint-Laurent at 3535 Sartelon St. Various types of waste can be dropped off at the ecocentre for proper recycling.

Useful links (in French only):

• List of materials accepted at ecocentres
• Ecocentre flyer (in French)

Collecting rainwater is a simple technique that allows you to:

• Reduce the negative effects of rainwater runoff and sewage overflow during storms (which can result in sewer backups and surplus discharge in natural habitats);
• Save water (collected water can be used for gardening);
• Protect your house foundations from water leakage from your roof.

To encourage citizens to collect rainwater, the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro sells rain barrels at the reduced cost of $75. Contact the Éco-quartier Pierrefonds-Roxboro for more information.

Note: In 2013, the City of Montréal adopted a bylaw on water use stating that watering is only permitted at certain periods. Watering paved surfaces such as asphalt is strictly forbidden.

You have probably heard about the emerald ash borer, the insect pest from Asia that is infesting ash trees across North America. The disappearance of thousands of ash trees not only impacts the landscape but also poses a risk to public health in cities exposed to heat islands.

The emerald ash borer is now unfortunately found throughout Montréal, and the City has undertaken a series of measures to contain the infestation, notably by treating trees with bio-pesticides. 

Residents are responsible for the care of ash trees on private property. It is important to take quick and efficient action. Contact us for information on caring for your ash tree.

Useful links:

Fighting the Emerald Ash Borer Homeowner’s Guide

3 simple ways to identify an ash tree

Treating or felling my ash tree

Financial aid