A

AA rating:
Highest rating given by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec to designate compost quality.

Alternating collection:
Collection method used to pick up residual materials (recyclable materials and waste) every week, but by alternating the type of materials being picked up (recyclable materials one week, and waste the next).

B

Biodegradable:
Said of a product or substance that can be entirely decomposed by living organisms.

Bulky waste:
Any domestic residues that are too large to be disposed of with household waste (i.e. appliances, furniture, etc.).

Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ):
Organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) whose role it is to set standards, issue certificates and register quality and environmental management systems.

C

Cardboard press:
Equipment used to compress cardboard to make more space inside the metal container used to transport residues.

CFM:
Cubic feet per minute. This is used to measure the pumping capacity of vacuum trucks.

Compost:
Putrescible residues decomposed by the action of microorganisms in the presence of oxygen to reach a more or less advanced state of stabilization. Compost is dark brown and has the smell and appearance of soil.

Compostable materials or green residues:
Easily biodegradable organic residues such as leaves, grass, plants, flowers, sawdust, fine wood chips, and cedar cuttings. Table scraps such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat without the bones, coffee grinds and filters, loose or bagged tea, eggshells, and bread can also be used to make compost.

Composting:
Composting process consisting in allowing farm or urban (household) residues mixed with wood chips to ferment in order to make organic fertilizer out of them.

Conditioner:
Business or person preparing a material (i.e. glass cullets) before it is shipped to a recycling centre.

Container:
Metal box of variable dimension used to carry and pick up materials to be sorted, recycled or buried.

Contaminant:
Material likely to alter the quality of a product. Contaminants break up the homogeneity of residual materials, making them more difficult to reuse or recycle.

Cullet:
Glass residues resulting from the first crushing stage of the glass recycling process.

D

Decantation process:
Set of operations performed to remove impurities from a liquid by allowing them to settle at the bottom of a container.

Disc conveyor:
Conveyor belt on the sorting table made from parts shaped like asymmetrical discs.

Disposal:
Final treatment or combination of final treatments performed to turn waste into environmentally safe materials.

Diversion rate:
Quantity of waste diverted from landfill sites to be recycled or composted.

Drainage system:
Piping system facilitating or directing the flow of liquid resulting from the decomposition of putrescible materials during the making of compost. This liquid is directed toward settling tanks.

Drainfield:
Series of drain pipes buried under the ground. These are used to disperse treated water from the septic tank over the entire receiving area. By slowly filtering through the ground, the clarified water from the septic tank is purified by microorganisms in the soil before it reaches the ground water.

Durable solution:
Method or treatment providing opportunities for the future.

Dust recovery system:
Airtight metal box used by industrial facilities to recover sawdust. This container is transported by means of a roll?off handling system.

E

Environmental perspective:
Way of thinking that consists in being aware of the environmental impact of our actions.

Environmental standards:
Set of practical rules and technical instructions applicable to a product or method established to standardize and guarantee the procedures to follow, to ensure safety, and to identify associated hazards or drawbacks.

Établissements verts Brundtland:
Movement bringing together establishments from educational and institutional environments as well as a few companies, whose values focus on ecology, peace, solidarity and democracy.

F

Front loading truck:
Truck used to collect residual materials (recyclable and compostable materials, and waste), equipped with a lifting device for metal containers at the front.

G

Grease trap:
Filtering system that traps the grease contained in evacuated liquids. This type of system is usually used by restaurants and fast food outlets.

Groisil :
Résidus du verre après une première étape de concassage dans le processus de transformation en verre recyclé.

H

Hazardous waste:
Any domestic waste having the properties of a hazardous material (leachable, flammable, toxic, corrosive, explosive, oxidizing, or radioactive), or which is contaminated by such a material, be it a solid, a liquid or a gas.

Hydraulic lift:
Hydraulic system used to lift the containers to be emptied into the trucks.

I

ICI:
Abbreviation meaning Industrial, Commercial and Institutional.

Incineration:
Disposal of waste through combustion using equipment designed for that purpose.

Integrated garbage compactor:
System allowing for the compaction of waste to create more space inside the metal container used for collection. The garbage compactor is included in the metal container carrying the waste and thus always remains with the container.

Integrated management:
Way of organizing the removal of residual materials so as to provide a complete service without having to resort to subcontractors.

J

K

L

Landfilling:
Operation that consists in compacting waste in layers 2 or 3 metres high and covering them with at least 15 centimetres of soil.

Leachate:
Liquid resulting from rainwater leaching through decomposing waste in a landfill. Leachate often contains toxic contaminants.

M

Manual sorting:
Action consisting in manually sorting and removing recyclable materials from the heap of materials sent to the recycling plant without the use of mechanical equipment.

Membrane:
Geotextile membrane used to cover the ground when a composting platform is built. The different layers of geotextile membrane protect the ground from liquid infiltrations coming from decomposing putrescible materials.

Midnight dumping:
Illegal dumping of residual materials in unapproved locations.

Mulch:
Layer of wood chips used in horticultural and agricultural environments to control weeds and retain moisture in the ground.

N

Negative sorting:
Action consisting in sorting and removing non-conforming materials from the category of materials to be sorted.

O

P

Positive sorting:
Action consisting in sorting and removing materials corresponding to the category of materials to be sorted.

Putrescible:
Refers to what can decay and decompose.

Q

R

Recovery:
All sorting, collecting, and conditioning operations allowing residual materials to be rehabilitated.

Recyclable material:
Material that can be reintroduced to the manufacturing process by which it was made or to a similar process using the same type of material to manufacture new products.

Recycler:
Person or organization receiving potentially recyclable materials to convert them into new objects or redirect them to other facilities for processing.

Recycling plant:
Facility where potentially recyclable materials are received and sorted in order to be forwarded on to a recycling centre.

Recycling:
Use of a post-consumer material in a manufacturing process in place of new material.

Recyc-Québec:
Founded by the Québec Government in 1990, the Société québécoise de récupération et de recyclage (Recyc-Québec) has the mission of promoting, developing and encouraging waste reduction and rehabilitation through reuse, recovery and recycling of containers, packaging, materials, and products, all within a perspective of resource conservation.

Refundable:
Said of packaging for which an amount of money is paid at the time a product is purchased, and which is later refunded in whole or in part to encourage recycling after use.

Refuse:
Rejected or discarded object or material considered to have no value.

Rehabilitation:
Techniques allowing for the reuse, recycling or regeneration of waste.

Residual material or residue:
Obsolete, thrown out or otherwise rejected material that is either rehabilitated or disposed of. Material remaining after a mechanical or chemical operation, an industrial process, etc.

Roll-off container:
Metal container compatible with a roll?off handling system.

S

Sanitary landfill:
Location where solid waste is buried

Selective collection:
Collection method used to pick up residual materials to be rehabilitated. Selective collection is based on voluntary drop-off of materials at a designated depot (point of sale, shelter, container, waste or resource treatment centre).

"Selective" method:
Septic tank pumping out and cleaning operation consisting in reintroducing the water into the tank after removing the grease and the sludge.

Semi-mechanized sorting:
Action consisting in sorting and removing materials by combining the use of mechanical equipment with manual sorting.

Septic tank:
Airtight underground tank where organic materials contained in wastewater are partially removed through an anaerobic process.

Side loading truck:
Truck used to collect residual materials (recyclable and compostable materials, and waste), equipped with a lifting device for roll?off containers at the side.

Sludge:
Residues from treated wastewater. These consist of sludge or mud with a high water content that collect at the bottom of holding tanks or septic tanks.

Soil compacting:
Pounding operation aimed at making the ground more compact and denser.

Stationary garbage compactor:
System allowing for the compaction of waste to create more space inside the metal containers used for collection. Removable containers allow for the waste to be picked up while the compactor remains at the customer's location.

Storm pipe:
Piping used to evacuate rainwater.

T

Three-way collection:
Collection method used to pick up residual materials (recyclable and compostable materials, and waste) from three different roll-off containers at three different times.

Tile field:
Filtering system at the entrance of a septic tank drainfield. It removes sludge, grease and other particles in suspension from the septic tank water before it seeps into the ground.

"Traditional" method:
Septic tank pumping out and cleaning operation consisting in removing everything in the tank (water, grease, sludge). This type of septic tank cleaning is also referred to as the "complete method".

Transfer station:
Location where residues are transferred from the vehicle that picked them up to another vehicle to be taken to another location for treatment or disposal.

U

V

W

Waste treatment centre or eco-centre:
Centre open to the public for the selective deposit of bulky or potentially recyclable household waste, as well as dry materials resulting from construction or renovation work.

Waste:
Residual materials to be disposed of.

Windrow:
Row of compost left on the ground for the length of time required for the compost to mature.

X

Y

Z