MRF Profiles: Récup Estrie (Sherbrooke, Qc) and Récupération Mauricie (Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Qc)

Throughout 2024, Carton Council of Canada’s Managing Director, Isabelle Faucher, continued to visit Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the country, observing the individual operations and learning about how each facility approached carton sorting.

Two of these facilities are profiled below: Récup Estrie (Sherbrooke, Qc) and Récupération Mauricie (Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Qc).

Récup Estrie (Sherbrooke, Qc)

In July 2024, Isabelle visited Récup Estrie, meeting with Taraneh Sepahsalari, the organization’s General Manager, and Jorge Lamilla, Director of Operations.

The Sherbrooke-based MRF recently implemented positive carton sorting, having committed to the practice as part of the organization’s soon-to-be-finalized agreement with Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) under the modernization of the curbside recycling system in this province.

In February 2024, Récup Estrie installed an optical sorter with three ejection streams: cartons, other 3D materials, and fibres. A new air separator was also installed to project cartons to a ceiling conduit where they were then meant to be transported towards a dedicated storage bunker. At the time of the visit, however, blockages were occurring in the ceiling conduit due to the positioning of certain cartons. Since this time, the Récup Estrie team worked with the equipment supplier to install a system which fires a shot of pressurized air when a blockage is detected. Fortunately, this has largely resolved the issue.

An air sorter at Récup Estrie projects cartons through the ceiling conduit towards a dedicated storage bunker.

Récupération Mauricie (Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Qc)

Isabelle also visited Récupération Mauricie and met with Daniel Cassivi, General Manager, and Jérémie Laroche, Director of Operations.

The Récupération Mauricie team recently announced that they have signed their agreement with ÉEQ and have just completed a $13.5 million modernization project of the MRF. 

The project involved installing four new optical sorters and repurposing the existing sorter to begin sorting cartons. It also involved installing three new mechanical separators.

Cartons are sorted at the last optical sorter on the container line. This is a dual ejection unit whose infeed conveyor is separated in two.  Materials travel on the first side, where mixed plastics are ejected upwards. Remaining materials are then directed to the second side of the machine, where cartons are ejected upwards, other remaining recyclables (except aluminum) are ejected downwards, and the rest (residue and aluminum) pass through. There is one quality control sorter assigned to cartons and the purity rate on the carton flow is 91% on average.

Since carton sorting began in August 2024, the team has shipped three loads of cartons to the Sustana mill in Lévis, Québec.

Carton Council of Canada is excited about these new developments that advance carton sorting and recycling and commends both facilities for the successful implementation of such important initiatives.

Carton Council of Canada’s Managing Director, Isabelle Faucher, with Récupération Mauricie’s Daniel Cassivi and Jérémie Laroche in front of one of the MRF’s carton bales.