The Société de récupération des appareils commerciaux (SORAC) and the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges have signed an agreement to recover commercial and institutional freezer and refrigeration appliances at the MRC's ecocentres in Vaudreuil-Dorion and Rigaud, in accordance with current environmental standards.

Thanks to this agreement, all businesses and institutions in the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges will be able to drop off these appliances, in quantities comparable to the residential sector*, at the following two ecocentres for pick-up by SORAC:

- Écocentre à Vaudreuil-Dorion, 2800 rue Henry-Ford, Vaudreuil-Dorion, J7V 0V8
- Écocentre in Rigaud, 32 rue de la Coopérative, Rigaud, J0P 1P0
* Businesses and institutions wishing to dispose of large quantities of appliances are invited to contact SORAC.

SORAC is the management organization recognized by Recyc-Québec to implement an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for commercial and institutional refrigeration and freezer appliances that have reached the end of their useful life. It is also the first program in Quebec and Canada to be set up for the recovery of targeted products, which are exclusively commercial and institutional in nature.

"The MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges is proud to be the first MRC in Quebec to sign an agreement with SORAC. agreement with SORAC, and this initiative enables us to continue our efforts to reduce the amount of residual materials sent to landfill on our territory. The MRC has been proactive in this area since 2018, accepting materials from businesses and institutions, in quantities comparable to residential, at its ecocenters located in Vaudreuil-Dorion and Rigaud. We had already been accepting commercial appliances containing halocarbons for several years, so that they could be recycled responsibly. This initiative is part of our Residual Materials Management Plan. We'd like to take this opportunity to invite other MRCs to follow suit and take part in the SORAC program," says Geneviève Lachance, Chair of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC Environment Committee and Mayor of Saint-Lazare.

As of September 30, 2022, the Regulation respecting the recovery and reclamation of products by enterprises (RRVPE) prohibits the recovery or reclamation of a product covered by the Regulation, or the entrusting of its recovery or reclamation, other than through an official program.

Products covered by this program include :

- Refrigerators and freezers
- Cooling cells
- Wine coolers
- Wine coolers
- Refrigerated display units and islands
- Ice machines
- Refrigerated food and beverage vending machines
- Refrigerated vending machines
- Refrigerated laboratory and medical equipment

These appliances, which are found throughout the province of Quebec, are collected free of charge by SORAC. The collection and recycling of these end-of-life products enables us to recover up to 97% of their components and reduce the use of raw materials.

Each safely recycled appliance avoids the release of one tonne of GHGs into the atmosphere, the equivalent of driving a small SUV or sedan 4,400 km. 

"We are actively working with our partners and municipalities to meet the challenges of collecting these appliances, for which there are as yet no official collection sites in Quebec, such as ecocentres. The Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM is the first SORAC partner RCM to officially accept these appliances at two of its ecocentres. This agreement, signed in recent weeks, is of great importance to SORAC, as it will greatly facilitate the collection process in this territory. We salute the leadership shown by the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. We are confident and determined to lead the way in diverting these appliances from landfill, thereby contributing to a positive environmental balance sheet by minimizing GHG emissions into the atmosphere," concludes Nathalie Desjardins, Program Director at SORAC.

The complete list of products covered by the Regulation can be consulted on the SORAC website: sorac.ca 

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