Residents in Trois-Rivières, Que., have a recycling plant for a neighbour. They say it's far from green

Frustrated neighbours in Trois-Rivières, Que., are sparing no effort to make their case that the province should think twice before doing business with a glass recycling company near their homes — collecting water samples and even using drones to prove that the operation is far from environmentally friendly.

Gilbert Cabana and his neighbours have a wide array of skill sets. 

Cabana is a professor in the science and environment department at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). One of his neighbours is a former investigator with the Sûreté du Québec. Another has a drone to take aerial photos. Others include biologists and market gardeners.

Earlier this summer, they met up, looking for ways to reclaim the quality of life that they say has been compromised by operations at Groupe Bellemare, a local company that offers concrete delivery, abrasives, minerals, and, in the last few decades, has branched out into recycling.

Its neighbours say they are tired of bearing the brunt of Bellemare's business model and have been working to keep the company in line, especially since Quebec is planning to expand its deposit programs for glass and Bellemare stands to be one of the companies taking on much more glass recycling.

"We're like a bunch of spies that meet up at night in a garage," Cabana told Radio-Canada's Enqûete program. 

"I know that we need to recycle things, but we could say that the idea is green globally, but brown locally. The 'local' being here."

The neighbours' concerns about the business appear to be warranted.

Since 1994, the province's Environment Ministry has issued 49 notices of non-compliance to Groupe Bellemare. In the last seven years, the ministry also received 446 complaints for noise, odours and dust. 

Prior to 2009, companies in Quebec were allowed to store materials directly over the water table, yet the recycling plant still violated provincial regulations, according to the ministry. Those violations included discharging non-compliant waste like tar barrels, charred animal parts and remains of a burnt pigsty.

When the rules changed, Bellemare did not adjust its practices, according to the ministry.

To force the company to shut down its dumping site, the Quebec government filed an injunction request, triggering an 11-year court battle, in which the province charged that Groupe Bellemare was operating "in apparent illegality," causing "serious prejudice."

Quebec continued issuing non-compliance notices even as the court battle dragged on. In 2015 and 2016, inspectors noted the absence of a surface capable of collecting liquid from certain wastes. According to the Environment Ministry, the materials were placed directly on the ground.

In 2021, the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement and Bellemare agreed to shut down its dump site in 2024 but did not acknowledge the ministry's accusations as being true.