Consequently, the Ville de Percé endorses the advocacy organization Equiterre motto "One step at a time" and urges all territory residents to do the same. There are now some noticeable efforts by local merchants and businesses towards protecting the environment.

SELECTIVE WASTE COLLECTION AND COMPOSTING
The City of Percé is one of the first MRC boroughs to have implemented selective waste collection. Once they are collected, - weekly in summer and every other week in winter -, recyclable materials are taken to the Grande-Rivière deconsolidation depot. A public board, which includes the Ville de Percé among its members, manages this depot.

The city administration team is always on the lookout for new ways of making the environment cleaner. Not only are particular recyclables currently collected, - cans of paint, household batteries and cell phones -, but we are also exploring ways to collect old computers so they can be recycled by specialized companies.

Concerning the municipal landfill site which will close on December 31st 2008, the Ville de Percé and the site operating manager are making sure that recycling companies are properly and regularly collecting tires and iron.

In the summer of 2007, the Ville de Percé provided several of its public areas with recycling bins: Every year more bins will be placed until requirements are met.

"COMPOSTING IS EASY: IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF ATTITUDE" (A resident of Percé)

During the summer of 2007, over 15 businesses participated in a pilot project for commercial composting. Overall comments have been positive. Businesses wishing to take part in this project may contact the Director of Urban Planning. Some residents have also volunteered to participate in the household composting pilot project, which is going very well.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Once its power consuming devices are worn out, the Ville de Percé gradually replaces them with more modern and efficient ones. For instance, the entire City Hall lighting equipment and its exit indicators are being replaced respectively with T-5 or T-8 fluorescents and Light Emitting Diode (LED) indicators. This can result in energy (and money!) savings ranging between 25% and 90%, depending on the equipment. Furthermore, the City Hall heritage building, which dates back to the early 20th century, will have its windows replaced in the winter of 2007-2008 to cut down on heat loss.

BIODEGRADABLE OIL AND GREASE
The Public Works department of the Ville de Percé is currently studying the technical and financial feasibility of re-using biodegradable oil and grease for the maintenance of its equipment.

TRAINING OUR STAFF
The city administration believes that a well-trained staff will better help achieve environmental goals. Therefore in the spring of 2007, a first series of interactive ‘green' training sessions was launched for the entire staff, who also as citizens could profit from such teachings.

YOUR NOVEL IDEAS
So you think you have a great idea that could make the territory of Percé even greener? Please share it with us! We will gladly welcome your ideas and projects as well as help you carry them through as far as we can.

RECYCLABLE MATERIALS AT THE RECYCLING CENTER
Click here to read the checklist for recyclable material at the Centre de tri (Recycling Center).

VITROPLUS IS HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT
VitroPlus now recycles car windshields. Click here to read the press release.

RECYC-FRIGO
Did you know that a refrigerator older that 10 years consumes three times the electricity of a newer model; an older freezer consumes twice the electricity. By recycling your refrigerator, you will save on your monthly electrical bills as well as receiving a 60 dollar rebate; 95% of your refrigerator will be recycled, an all toxic materials will be disposed of safely. Call 1-877-493-7446 for more information, or visit our page Useful Links. You may subscribe online at www.recyc-frigo.com

DISPOSABLE DIAPERS VERSUS REUSABLE
In recent years an increasing number of families have been questioning the use of disposable diapers. The debate of disposable diapers versus reusable cloth diapers is ongoing; the following information may help you decide. In order to reduce the cost of the Residual Materials Management Program, we must all participate in reducing waste sent to landfills. All municipalities in Québec are required to establish a Residual Materials Management Program in order to meet the objectives set by the provincial government of recycling and reducing 65 % of all residual materials.

According to the December 2008 issue of Urba, Québec throws away 600 million disposable diapers each year, the equivalent of 60 000 tonnes of waste. Disposable diapers, along with newspapers and soft-drink packaging, are among the most abundant consumer waste products found in landfills.

The use of reusable cloth diapers reflect the essential goals of the 3Rs: Reduction at the source (one trip, one purchase), Re-use (can be used for a period of 2-3 years), and Recycle (may be turned into cloth towels or be recycled).

Cloth diapers are more economical. Reusable cloth diapers cost between $450 and $750, and may be used for more than one child. By choosing disposable diapers, a family will spend between $1500 and $2 500 per child.

• An average of 6000 disposable diapers are needed before an child is toilet trained;

• A reusable cloth diaper replaces 230 disposable diapers;

• Disposable diapers are used for only a few hours, but take an average of 300-500 years to decompose;

• The production of disposable diapers use 41% more water than the production AND washing of reusable cloth diapers.

• In Canada, 2 400 000 trees are used for the production of disposable diapers, which represents an average of 5-12 trees per child.

You do have a choice.