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In recent years, the waste crisis has intensified. For example, the amount of material disposed of per person in Quebec rose to 685 kg in 20231. But the greatest waste is taking place right under our noses, when brand-new goods are destroyed and thrown away by companies, while consumers struggle with ever-higher prices.
At a time when natural resources are becoming scarce, the climate crisis is worsening and Quebecers are struggling to make ends meet, it was publicly revealed that some large companies are intentionally destroying and throwing away tons of new goods - encouraged by the federal government.
We have to put a stop to this phenomenon, which is literally a commercial culture. We destroy without questioning the impact and without finding alternatives. Équiterre has found some, and has looked into the matter to propose concrete solutions to reduce this aberrant waste of new goods.
Our report on this subject focuses on two targets that have the power to change these practices:
Companies that throw away clothing, school supplies, hardware and all kinds of new goods.
- Governments:
First the federal government, which encourages them by requiring unsold goods to be destroyed before offering compensation, supposedly to keep companies competitive.
And the province, which has the legitimacy to adopt regulations to force companies to change their practices.
Our goal is to obtain a law prohibiting the destruction of new merchandise.
To better understand how this is possible, read our report:
pdf - 3.07 mb Prohibiting the destruction of unsold goods
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