The City of Rigaud offers its citizens the opportunity to recycle personal protective equipment (PPE) that are currently worn in the fight against COVID-19.
Rigaud wishes through this initiative to prevent the PPE from ending up in the collection of waste materials which is sent to landfill. The municipal administration states that as of Wednesday, April 7th , 2021, the citizens of Rigaud will be able to dispose of their single-use equipment in the recovery boxes located at the municipal library of Rigaud as well as at École de l’Épervière. Parents of students attending the school will be able to bring their equipment to school, through their children, who will be able to place them in the boxes provided for this purpose.
The list of personal protective equipment that can be recovered is as follows:
- Procedure mask
- Wipe
- Gloves
- Goggles and face shield
- Protection gown
- Plastic ear plug
- Beard cover
A project by the city and its citizens
This achievement is an initiative of the City of Rigaud and its Escouade écocitoyenne (Eco-Citizen Club). This is in addition to the 2018-2023 action plan, the city’s strategic plan with a view to sustainable development.
“We are proud to be one of the first municipalities in Vaudreuil-Soulanges to offer the possibility of recovering these materials, instead of lining landfills with numerous masks and other protective equipment”, adds the mayor of Rigaud, Hans Gruenwald Jr.
The city points out that it is a company in Lachine, MultiRecycle, which collects a wide variety of personal protective equipment. For example, the masks are sent to one of their partners (Covanta in Chambly), where they are burned. The incinerated fiber becomes energy, that is, steam that will be used to generate electricity. Finally, residues such as ferrous metals, aluminum and copper are recovered to “close the loop”.
