About Us

:: A brief history

The borough of Saint-Laurent is the home of Montreal’s most recent addition to the éco-quartier program. The organization managing Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent was created in March of 2004 and has been fully operational since June 15th of that year.

Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent was created through the desire of both the borough of Saint-Laurent and its citizens. In autumn 2003, an ad was placed in the local newspaper that aimed to bring together environmentally conscious Saint-Laurent residents interested in getting involved in the creation of a new environmental committee.

Citizens, together with community workers, created this environmental committee that then became an organization legally incorporated March 23rd, 2004 in Montreal. This organization is known as the Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour le Bien-être Environnemental, or CRABE, and has been running the Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent program ever since.

• Has the mandate to manage Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent
• Has the mandate to raise environmental awareness in Saint-Laurent
• Engages in a variety of activities encouraging healthy environmental management
• Brings together residents, businesses, community organizations and institutions of Saint-Laurent conscious of issues linked to the environment

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:: An environmental program

Éco-quartier is the city of Montreal’s environmental action program and functions at the borough level. Through this program, the city supports the initiatives of organizations engaged in helping citizens take charge of their environment.

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:: Éco-quartier vs. Éco-centre

The Éco-quartiers of Montreal differ from Éco-centres in many ways. An Éco-centre is a place where Montreal citizens can deposit their dangerous household residues whereas Éco-quartiers serve as reference centers for environmental questions. Éco-quartiers aim to promote eco-civicism in order to enhance and preserve the local environment. For more information about Éco-centres, consult the brochure, Pour recycler plus… les éco-centres sont là (.pdf) (in French).

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:: Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent (EQSL)

The mission of Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent is to raise environmental awareness and mobilize citizens and businesses with respect to environmental issues as well as matters of urban cleanliness. Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent also organizes activities that contribute in concrete ways to improving the borough.

Cleanliness, respect, pride
Éco-quartier Saint-Laurent works in the domain of urban cleanliness by encouraging citizens not to litter, respect garbage and recycling pickup schedules, properly use street garbage bins and reduce pollution from canine waste.

Social Commitment
In order to support citizens in their environmental actions, recycling bins and informative brochures are available free of charge at the éco-quartier as well as the Citizen’s office.

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:: EQSL's mandate

1. Enhance, in a permanent way, the cleanliness of the borough

2. Reduce the quantity of garbage and intensify the collection of recyclable materials by:

• Promoting the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)
• Promoting composting

3. Enhance the visual quality of the urban landscape by:

• Reducing graffiti and illegal posters
• Organizing beautification projects
• Creating contests

4. Enhance the natural heritage of the borough by:

• Supporting tree planting.
• Promoting the naturalization of vacant lots.
• Encouraging the eradication of ragweed.
• Planning ecological community gardens.
• Favouring alternatives to pesticide use.

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