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There is always room for improvement. Case in point; the original curbside recycling bins used across the island (save for the monsters used in the burbs…more on this later). A trial of 5000 newly designed laundry baskets recycling bins will be tested/abused over the next little while in an effort to hopefully improve […]

It’s obvious that Alan’s raison d’etre is simply to pass all responsibility onto the province.  So here you go…

Alan DeSousa = Mayor of Ville St-Laurent (Check)
City of Montréal Executive Responsible for “sustainable development”
City of Montreal Executive Responsible for “Blaming Quebec for all that ails the City”
City of Montreal Executive Committee responsible for economic development
City […]

Can I call you Tim?   Click and read an absolutely brilliant open letter to Tim Hortons.

IKEA is large enough to set trends in the marketplace.  When they introduced a 0.05$ charge to take a plastic grocery bag, people took notice.
In the first six months of the “Bag the Bag” program, IKEA Canada has reduced its Plastic Bag use by 90 per cent across the country. Last October, IKEA Canada conducted […]

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles shoppers soon won’t hear the question, “Paper or plastic?” at the checkout line.
The City Council voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores, beginning July 1, 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper or biodegradable bag.
Take note Montreal city council…it can […]

Excerpt from Michelle Lalonde’s article in the Montreal Gazette (May 5, 2008)
It was all about the smell. A few years ago, I was working on a recycling story that required I take a tour of the St. Michel Environmental Complex. Inside the giant sorting centre of the plant, two things struck me immediately. First, the […]

Click for larger version.

We took part in Montreal’s Urban Ecology Centre sponsored event a few weeks ago and attended a few great workshops like:

Heat island effect and how to cool the city
Cote-St-Luc’s pilot (now going full steam ahead) compost program
Green roof design
Eco Habitation presentation on building greener

Part of the Heat island effect workshop involved a little tour of […]

When you pull up behind a line of 5 or more cars waiting to dump their refuse/recyclables at the local eco-centre, you have a gut reaction that at least one city service is working well for it’s population. In theory you could walk up, or even bike up with your goods, just bring a […]

Just a quick note on the final stages of the recyc-frigo program that my mom made use of last week.  They were extremely professional, measured all the doorways the old freezer had to pass through, took the door off the freezer and pulled that sucker out and loaded the truck in about 20 minutes.
She got […]

I’ve always had a soft spot for people choosing to set up shop in shipping containers.  This flickr set shows the cream of the crop in New Zealand.  I’ll have to dig up some pictures we took while visiting the land of the flightless kiwi.  Incredible modern architects abound.

found via treehugger.

While still on the spring (summer?) cleanup of Montreal take a look at these two pix below.

Taken Sunday at the old port on the wide pedestrian walkway off de la Commune, filled with tourists and locals alike.  Eating, drinking and generally enjoying the spectacular sun filled day at the old port.
Two things are glaringly obvious […]