The “EcoByke verre demain” project is a pilot project that aims to recover empty wine bottles in downtown Trois-Rivières restaurants. Michel Letarte, owner of EcoByke, had the idea for this initiative after asking restaurant owners how they were disposing of empty bottles. Some were being recycled, but others were being thrown away. Faced with this situation, Mr. Letarte decided to use his electric bikes to help the environment.
These bicycles will be used to collect glass from restaurants, diverting it from landfills and ensuring that it is recycled. This way, several thousand bottles can be recovered and sent to our facilities to be given a second life (i.e., glass for remelting, pool filtration or sandblasting products, or cement additives).
A small container in Groupe Bellemare colours is going to be installed downtown where Mr. Letarte will be able to dispose of the collected bottles. People from the surrounding area will also be able to drop off their non-returnable glass containers. Twice a week, participating restaurants will be asked to collect bottles and bring them to the container.
This project is a logical follow-up to the recent installation of a glass recycling container located on Des Récollets Boulevard, in the parking lot across from SAQ Dépôt. The “EcoByke verre demain” project is financially supported by “Programme d'économie durable (PED)” of Éclore Trois-Rivières environment fund. First Quebec fund entirely dedicated to the protection of the environment at the municipal level, Éclore is the result of a valuable partnership between the City of Trois-Rivières, the “Fondation Trois-Rivières durable” and “Innovation et Développement économique Trois-Rivières”.
