Located in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, Peintures Récupérées du Québec inc. is responsible for the recovery and reclamation of paint containers and remains coming from the residential market all over the Province of Quebec. This is done at a lower cost and in an exemplary fashion. Now a subsidiary of Société Laurentide and a Canadian leader in paint recycling, Peintures Récupérées collects leftover paints from the Maritimes and northeastern North America. The company, which now has over 50 employees, has been in existence since 1992 and sells its products under the name Boomerang.
Thanks to the cooperation of municipalities and large distribution chains, Peintures Récupérées du Québec inc. was able to establish a collection network for paint remains in all areas of Quebec. In 2003, the company collected 2.6 million kilos of paint and in 2004, 3 million kilos of paint were delivered to its plant. The volume of paint remains to be recovered in the province of Quebec alone is estimated to be four to five million kilos. There is still a lot of room for expansion.
Peintures Récupérées du Québec inc. is currently the only company in Quebec to market recovered paint. The finished product represents 60% of all collected products. Steel containers (24% of deliveries) are recovered, pressed and shipped to a smelting plant. Waste, such as dry paint and other products (16% of deliveries), are not processed for the time being. Part of these are disposed of by companies specialized in the field.
Paint sales are divided into two categories: sales of the Boomerang house brand by retailers, which account for 60% of production, and the remaining 40%, which is exported. Countries such as Cuba, Haiti, and Mexico, as well as some African countries have become regular consumers of our products. The price/quality ratio is the main factor spurring on consumer demand for recycled paint.
At the onset, our objective was twofold. We wanted to recover paint remains to prevent them from going to landfill sites and also recycle them into a valuable resource. The Quebec Government’s new regulations, however, now makes paint manufacturers responsible for managing paint remains.
The recovery system must ensure a minimum rate of recovery of paint containers that equals, in weight or volume, the following percentages, calculated on the basis of paint containers marketed annually by the business or supplier:
- 25%, as of 2002;
- 50%; as of 2005;
- 75%, as of 2008.”
Extract from the Regulation respecting the recovery and reclamation of discarded paint containers and paints, GAZETTE OFFICIELLE DU QUÉBEC, June 14, 2000, 132nd year, No 24.
www.peinture.qc.ca/index_en.aspx
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