Informal collection of beverage containers in Montreal and the Coop Les Valoristes: A rapid socio-economic livelihoods assessment

Abstract

This report presents the results of a socio-economic survey conducted with 50 valoristes in downtown Montreal in 2019. Our study also involved two key informant interviews with leaders of Coop Les Valoristes. The results allow for a sociodemographic profile of valoristes, showing that the population of valoristes is overwhelmingly male and that all respondents were over 35 years old, and more than half were over 55. Contrary to popular belief, 76% of valoristes have more or less stable work, and 40% of respondents have never experienced homelessness. However, it should be remembered that the job insecurity of many workers places them at risk of homelessness. Almost half (42%) of the participants, have a post-secondary diploma, and over 50% have graduated from high-school. Yet, the work they do, retrieving bottles and cans from the waste stream, is perceived as nuisance, and valoristes continue to being harassed and stigmatized in the public. Half of the respondents experience various forms of conflict while they work. Health impacts are also linked to unsanitary and risk-prone working conditions of valoristes. Almost all of the respondents stated that they had suffered minor injuries as a result of collecting containers (cuts, soreness, infections). The most commonly collected recyclable material are beverage containers, primarily from two main sources: blue boxes as well as the parks and public spaces in town. Most valoristes already have designated routes and sometimes client relationships. The income from this work is very important to the valoristes. The majority (60%) responded that the deposit serves as a complement to social assistance, in contexts of temporary or permanent exclusion from the labor market (health problems, incapacity, long-term unemployment, etc.). As a solution to improving the livelihoods of valoristes they suggest to increase the deposit value and to include also other materials for diversion through the valoristes.

Full text

Informal collection of beverage containers
in Montreal and the
Coop Les Valoristes:
A rapid socio-economic livelihoods assessment
2021
By: Jutta Gutberlet, Dare Sholanke and Katlyn Keats
UNIVERSITY OF VICTORA, VICTORIA - CANADA
COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH LAB
ISBN 978-1-7776032-1-2

2
Informal collection of beverage containers in Montreal and the Coop Les Valoristes: A
rapid socio-economic livelihoods assessment
Jutta Gutberlet
1
, Dare Sholanke
2
, Katlyn Keats
3
Photos at cover page by:
Pascale Tesson, project “VALORISTES AFFICHEZ-VOUS! Projet de médiation Culturelle en
collaboration avec Les Valoristes, Coopérative de solidarité”
ISBN 978-1-7776032-1-2
1
Professor in Geography, University of Victoria, Canada. Email: gutber@uvic.ca
2
MA in Geography, University of Victoria, Canada: sholanked@gmail.com
3
MA candidate in Geography, University of Victoria, Canada: kkeats@uvic.ca

3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 4
2. METHODOLOGY 5
3. RESULTS 7
3.1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 7
3.2 HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS 9
3.3 SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 11
3.4 WORK RELATED CHARACTERISTICS 12
3.5 INCOME RELATED CHARACTERISTICS 13
4. DISCUSSION 15
4.1 KEY CHALLENGES VALORISTES FACE IN DIVERTING BOTTLES AND CANS 15
4.2 ROLES VALORISTES PLAY IN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT 17
4.3 ROLE OF THE COOPERATIVE IN ORGANIZING RESOURCE RECOVERY 17
4.4 OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY INCLUSIVE RESOURCE RECOVERY. 18
5. CONCLUSION 19
6. REFERENCES 20

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INFORMAL COLLECTION OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS IN MONTREAL, QC
AND THE COOPERATIVE LES VALORISTES:
A RAPID SOCIOECONOMIC LIVELIHOODS ASSESSMENT
ABSTRACT
This report presents the results of a socio-economic survey conducted with 50
valoristes in downtown Montreal in 2019, an update from the research conducted in
the same study area in 2014 (Bordeleau & Batellier, 2015). Our study also involved two
key informant interviews with leaders of Coop Les Valoristes. The results allow for a
sociodemographic profile of valoristes, showing that the population of valoristes is
overwhelmingly male and that all respondents were over 35 years old, and more than
half were over 55. Contrary to popular belief, 76% of valoristes have more or less stable
work, and 40% of respondents have never experienced homelessness. However, it
should be remembered that the job insecurity of many workers places them at risk of
homelessness. Almost half (42%) of the participants, have a post-secondary diploma,
and over 50% have graduated from high-school. Yet, the work they do, retrieving
bottles and cans from the waste stream, is perceived as nuisance, and valoristes
continue to being harassed and stigmatized in the public. Half of the respondents
experience various forms of conflict while they work. Health impacts are also linked to
unsanitary and risk-prone working conditions of valoristes. Almost all of the
respondents stated that they had suffered minor injuries as a result of collecting
containers (cuts, soreness, infections). The most commonly collected recyclable
material are beverage containers, primarily from two main sources: blue boxes as well
as the parks and public spaces in town. Most valoristes already have designated routes
and sometimes client relationships. The income from this work is very important to the
valoristes. The majority (60%) responded that the deposit serves as a complement to
social assistance, in contexts of temporary or permanent exclusion from the labor
market (health problems, incapacity, long-term unemployment, etc.). As a solution to
improving the livelihoods of valoristes they suggest to increase the deposit value and to
include also other materials for diversion through the valoristes. Finally, the work needs
to be recognized and valued by the public and primarily by Government.
1. INTRODUCTION
The results presented in this report originated from a survey completed in 2019, with
recyclers of the cooperative Les Valoristes in Montreal. This research is part of the
Recycling Networks and Waste Governance partnership, a project that seeks to identify,
examine and document grassroots social innovations and challenges in waste
governance in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Kenya, Nicaragua and Tanzania. The project

5
examines the challenges that innovative grassroots initiatives and networks encounter
in generating livelihoods to improve household waste collection and recycling. In
addition, it seeks to map waste governance and successful grassroots waste
management initiatives, arrangements and policies. In Canada, case studies were
conducted in Vancouver with the Binners project and in Montreal with the cooperative
Les Valoristes.
The practice of collecting bottles and cans for deposit fund returns is a common
practice in most larger cities in North America. In English speaking cities in Canada
these workers are called Binners, Diverters, Recyclers and sometimes also Waste
Pickers (although this term is most widespread in the English-speaking literature
focusing on global South contexts). In French, the term valoristes applies. The activity
recovers not only recyclable beverage containers, but can also include food, clothing,
car batteries and other items of value from dumpsters. The informal waste recycling
and recovery is largely driven by socio-economic conditions of impoverished and
marginalized individuals, who collect and recycle materials to maintain their livelihoods.
Informal recyclers in Canada have largely been studied in Vancouver (Tremblay, et al.
2010; Wittmer, 2014), Victoria (Gutberlet et al., 2009) and Halifax (Atchison, 2012).
Their numbers have directly increase with funding cuts in social programs, as was
documented for the city of Vancouver (Tremblay, et al., 2010).
It is important to recognizing the role that the informal waste sector and its participants
have in the community and the local environment. Their work promotes societal goods
such as better and healthier communities. Recognition can generate support for social
enterprises and cooperatives (Scheinberg & Anschutz, 2006). Nevertheless, dialogue
between waste pickers and local government agents is often very difficult.
In Montreal, waste pickers are called valoristes, grounded in the experience of the
cooperative Les Valoristes. Projet Consigne was created in 2004 by two volunteers
(Marina and Marica). The project offers free collection points for refundable containers
within businesses of downtown Montreal. Established in 2005, the pilot project was
developed to test the possibility of implementing a larger collection system to
Downtown Montreal. After 6 years, there were nearly 110,000 containers recovered on
foot by the valoristes. Finally, in 2012, the initiative gave rise to the cooperative, called
Les Valoristes. For the cooperative, the term valoriste defines the individuals who
collect returnable, recyclable or reusable materials through recovery, either
partnerships with companies or individuals or in public spaces and bins, in exchange for
money (Bordeleau & Batellier, 2015). We subsequently use valoristes to designate the
informal collectors of returnable beverage containers in the context of the city of
Montreal. Bordeleau & Batellier (2015) estimated around 150 valoristes in Montreal.
2. METHODOLOGY
The empirical work was conceived within the Masters’ Thesis project of Dare Sholanke
which focused on Vancouver and the case study of the Binners’ project. We took a
similar approach in the research design and data collection for the case study in

6
downtown Montreal, focusing on the cooperative Les Valoristes. The primary data
sources were the application of a questionnaire and one in-depth interview with the
Cooperative leader. In addition, we were also able to access data from a photovoice
workshop conducted at the same time by Pascale Tesson, under the research project
“VALORISTES AFFICHEZ-VOUS! Projet de médiation Culturelle en collaboration avec Les
Valoristes, Coopérative de solidarité”. This researcher has kindly shared the outcome of
this photovoice project, which has complemented our data analysis and presentation.
One of the valoristes, Bernard, participated as co-researcher and received training to
apply the close-ended questionnaire survey to a total of 50 valoristes within the
downtown area of the city of Montreal. The co-researchers’ time was compensated by
an hourly rate. The training included discussions about basic research ethics such as
consent, confidentiality, privacy and harm. The surveys included a wide range of
questions to help give insights into the valoristes’ demographics, socio-economic
indicators, major source of recyclable materials, etc. (see survey questions listed in the
appendix). The survey questions were developed with the input from Binners in
Vancouver, a purposively selected group of five Binners from the Binners’ Project. The
same survey was also applied in Montreal. Attached to the survey was a consent form
to be signed by the research participants, with a brief statement of the purpose of the
study, as well as outlining its benefits and objectives. Confidentiality was ensured by
assigning a pseudonym to each participant, protecting their real identity with
anonymity.
One in-depth interview was conducted online with the vice-president of the
cooperative (the interview lasted approximately 60 minutes) and one written interview
was conducted with the administrator of the cooperative (Bernard) who has provided
his own perspective as well as a summary of what he had heard from conversations
with many of the valoristes. Further follow-up meetings were conducted through Skype
and emails with the cooperative’s vice-president to address specific questions or to
clarify some doubts.
The photovoice component allowed to showcase participants’ lived experiences and
challenges encountered while collecting recyclables through the use of pictures.
Photovoice is a community-based action research method that aims to deepen
participants’ understanding of a specific issue or concern, to influence policymaking,
and to catalyze social change through photography and group discussions/dialogue
(Wang et al., 1998). This research method was driven by the desire to empower as well
as to give participants a voice through photography. The photovoice method is widely
known for its effectiveness in promoting a democratic knowledge development and to
give visibility to the participants and their lived experiences (Herganrather et al., 2009;
Liebenberg, 2018). Seven valoristes (Bernard, Denis, Denis Casse la can, Jean-Paul,
Linda, Louise and Mario) participated in the photovoice collection, documenting their
daily work experiences. Posters were produced with the most expressive images,
combined with key statements from the participants. The images and the respective
quotes from the participants are included in the data analysis for this report, adding
additional perspectives that help us understand the everyday contexts and challenges

7
lived by the valoristes in Montreal. The posters from the photovoice workshop were
posted at the main website of Les Valoristes.
Through qualitative analysis we identified patterns and themes, all of which gave a
more in-depth and close-up picture of the topic in question. The in-depth interview was
transcribed and analyzed manually using Taylor-Powell and Renner’s (2003) method of
content analysis. This method provides a step-by-step approach to content analysis
which includes familiarization of the data, focus on the question or topic, and the
categorization of information into themes, categories and sub-categories as they
appear in the texts. Interview transcripts were colour coded to identify emerging
themes. Each theme was then grouped and entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Labelled by different colours, the themes were grouped into relevant categories and
sub-categories based on the research questions. This was an iterative process, as the
analysis was repeated multiple times and was revisited continuously during the writing
process.
The questionnaire surveys were analysed using Survey Monkey, providing basic charts
and tables. This tool was useful in identifying demographics, socio-economic
characteristics and other relevant information about the participants in statistical
terms. Both the data collection and analysis were carried out concurrently.
3. RESULTS
The following results reflect the situation of the valoristes and the cooperative at the
time of the data collection and organisation in January 2019. The data provides
demographic and socio-economic background information, reflecting the responses of
the 50 valoristes surveyed by Bernard as well as the information collected through the
interviews. In 2019, the cooperative had 31 core members and 45 members.
3.1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
Participants in this survey are predominantly single males with no dependents. Of the
50 respondents, only 7 (14%) identified as female. The interview however, revealed
that there are currently 10 female valoristes members in downtown Montreal. Marica
states: “this is still minimal but the numbers are on the increase. We started with 5
women and now we have 10”. The work attracts more men than women, since “having
more strength… ability to carry more stuff” is important in this work, according to
Marica. She also concludes that there are no visible gender issues among valoristes in
Montreal. It is to be expected that there will be more female participation in this
activity, particularly in those neighbourhoods with larger immigrant populations, as for
example in Park Extension or Montreal North.
All respondents were over the age of 35; 49% (24) were between 35-54 years old, 41%
(20) were between 55-64 years old, and 10% (5) were 65 or older.

8
With respect to the ethnicity of the participants, the majority (94%) responded that
they were Caucasian, while 2 participants were Asian/Pacific Islander, and one was
Hispanic/Latino. The study by Bordeleau and Batellier (2015) identified a similar ethnic
background for valoristes and identified 90% being from Canada and 84% of all research
participants originating from the province of Quebec.
Most of them (82%) were single; 12% were divorced, and a single respondent indicated
that they were married, widowed, and in a common-law relationship, respectively. Only
one respondent listed having a single dependent.
Almost half (42%) of valoristes have a post-secondary degree or diploma (college or
university), and 54% have graduated from high school (Figure 1). The remaining
participants listed primary school as their highest level of education. Similarly,
Bordeleau and Batellier (2015) already underlined that a significant number of
valoristes (36%) had completed professional training and that the majority had been
working within their trades for most of their life. This study had also identified that six
of the 50 interviewees have had contact with crime in the past, for example working
within drug trafficking. Being able to work in resource recovery as a valoriste opens up
opportunities to leave the milieu of crime.
One of the recurring stereotypes about informal waste pickers, which circulates
throughout society, is the fact that most of them are in situations of homelessness
(Bordeleau, 2015). We found that 87.8% of them had a home at the time of the
interview, compared to only 12.2% who did not (Figure 2). The vast majority of
valoristes surveyed, therefore, live either in a single room, in subsidized housing or in a
rented apartment. Nonetheless, it is necessary to better understand the specific reality
and often extreme precariousness that characterizes their livelihoods (Bordeleau &
Batellier, 2015). Without being in a situation of homelessness, a significant number of
valoristes are potentially at risk, particularly in view of the precariousness and
instability of their living situation, in addition to their unstable income, rising cost of
living and their lack of recognition and often stigmatization by the general public.
University College High school Primary
school
Other
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Figure 1: What is your highest level of education?

9
3.2 HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS
A small number of valoristes (20%) have indicated that they experience some form of
disability, while the majority indicated that they do not.
It is relatively common for valoristes to being at risk of being injured while working.
Almost half (48%) of respondents have admitted to having been subjected to an injury
while at work. Health risks that valoristes may experience include cuts (78%), physical
soreness (16%), and infections (42%). A small proportion of respondents (16%)
indicated that they have not experienced injuries while binning.
For the most part, very few respondents know of other valoristes who have been
injured while binning; 86% (42 respondents) reported that they don’t know anyone
who has been injured while working. Only two valoristes (4%) have reported knowing
one person who has sustained an injury, and five valoristes (10%) mentioned that they
knew 2 to 6 people that have been injured while binning. These results speak to a high
level of occupational health risks of this category of workers, which is in line with the
broader academic literature (Binion & Gutberlet, 2012; Gutberlet et al, 2013; Gutberlet
& Uddin, 2018).
Yet, only a small number of respondents (10%) have indicated that they handle
hazardous material while working, compared to 6% who indicated that they sometimes
do. The majority (82%) however, stated that they do not interact with hazardous
materials and one valoriste was not sure. Hazardous materials include broken glass,
sharp cans and syringes in parks and public spaces. For valoristes, cuts and scrapes are
part of the everyday work experience and they seem to not perceive the risks related to
being exposed to sharp materials and the majority of the workers do not wear gloves.
When asked if they use gloves to collect materials, 59% (29) of respondents admitted
that they do not wear gloves to work, where 30% do, and 10% indicated that they
sometimes do. Among these observations collected, all those who answered no to the
question said that it was cumbersome to work with gloves and also to constantly
remove and put on the gloves was considered tiring. According to Bernard, another
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Figure 2: What is your current housing situation?

10
reason for not wearing gloves is the difficulty of handling and “feeling things” while
wearing them. Others do not want to pay to buy gloves, however, are happy to receive
a pair on days when they are distributed at the Coop Les Valoristes. “We appreciated
this measure”, as one participant expressed. Previous research conducted in Brazil
reached similar results in relation to the use of protective gloves during work (Gutberlet
et al., 2013). In that research the authors concluded that providing heavy duty non-
disposable gloves with the fingertips on one hand removed for the thumb and the
indicator finger, would help the workers in identifying the different plastic materials,
while still mostly protecting the hands from injury. In addition, Bordeleau and Batellier
(2015) found that at the time 10% of the research participants responded being
infected with Hepatitis C or HIV/Aids.
• Health/Medical Support
There are a number of locations that valoristes go to seek health and medical support.
Over a third of the respondents (17) listed that they have a personal medical doctor,
22% (11) listed that they visit a walk-in clinic when they require health and medical
support, 18% (9) visit a hospital when required, and 6% (3) receive medical care from
local shelters (Figure 3). The remaining 20% of respondents listed “other” locations for
where they receive health care and support. Other places that respondents listed as
places that they go for health/medical issues are community service centres (5
participants). One participant responded that they self-medicate, and the other five
respondents listed that they do not seek support.
Valoristes are aware of the positive effects of being involved in the Cooperative in
terms of benefitting their physical and mental health. Many have noticed an
improvement in their physical health, and several have said that “it makes me feel
better”. One valoriste said “it helps me have a more orderly life”, while another
indicated that ’it keeps me busy and the money collected, it saves me from stealing’.
Walk-in clinic Shelters Hospital Personal
medical
doctor
Other, please
specify...
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Figure 3: Where do you seek health/medical support?

11
Binning provides important structure in the life of these individuals; it provides a
purpose and generates some income to cover living expenses.
3.3 SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS
Informal waste collectors often suffer from widespread prejudice and stigmatization,
representing one of the most widely excluded and disempowered segments of society
(Samson, 2009; Gutberlet, 2010). Because of this, many experience discrimination and
harassment. Of the respondents, 40% admitted that they have been discriminated
against or harassed in the previous 12 months. Jean-Paul, participant in the photovoice
workshop voiced: “I am like an owl, I prefer to pick up the night. People are nicer!
Furthermore Denis, who also was part of that activity stated: “I have the right to
recover the deposit of beverage containers that I find in the street ... Without been
discriminated!”.
On the other hand, their experience with authorities such as by-law officers are largely
positive. Most of them (89.8%) indicated that they have had positive experiences, while
only 8.16% shared that they have had negative experience with authorities, and the
remaining 2% indicated that they have not had any encounters at all with authorities.
According to Bernard, valoristes that have been collecting for longer than ten years
have noticed a major shift in the attitude of police officers. In the past, they would be
frequently stopped by officers for identification checks in parks and public spaces.
Today, not only are the valoristes no longer the object of frequent checks, but those
wearing the “valoristes” sweaters are able to collect in the city parks at night without
being stopped by the police.
Most valoristes interviewed (88%) were not part of a collective organization (NGO,
cooperative, etc.); only 6 respondents mentioned to be part of Les Valoristes, however,
only 4 were actively participating in the initiative. Yet, the large majority of the
interviewees knew about the cooperative Les Valoristes. There were only two
participants in the survey who had not heard about this organization. While most
participants knew about the Cooperative, they mentioned that they had not yet been
invited to join (85% of the responses).
Most of the respondents answered that they work on their own and that they did not
have working relationships with other valoristes. Only 1 participant answered having a
working partnership, while 2 respondents said that they sometimes do. It seems that
most valoristes still work on their own, where they are flexible to define their working
hours and work space. There seems to be little cooperation amongst those valoristes
that are not part of an organization, such as Coop Les Valoristes. Collecting refundables
for return fees is an activity that is comparable to hunting and gathering, and those
involved value their autonomy and flexibility. Yet, if organized, they have a better
chance to address key challenges such as price range and scope of materials to be
included as returnable packaging, restrictive policies, or issues related to occupational
health risks.

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3.4 WORK RELATED CHARACTERISTICS
The majority of respondents (36) are unemployed, while 8% (4) have full time
employment. The remaining 18% have either part time or occasional employment.
Most respondents (94%) have been binning for longer than a year (Table 1).
Table 1: Years of Binning Experience
Number of Respondents
Less than 1
3
1-3
8
3-5
19
5-10
9
More than 10
11
Most valoristes (82%) spend at least 2 hours working with binning per day (Table 2).
Table 2: Hours Spent Binning per Day
Number of Respondents
Less than 1
9
2-4
18
4-6
9
6-8
6
More than 8
8
Most valoristes (64%) collect materials on foot, or by bicycle (40%). Other modes of
transportation include trailers (2%), carts (2%), vehicles (2%), and public transportation
by bus (2%).
The majority of respondents travels at least 1 km per day to collect materials (Table 3).
While covering that distance, 76% of the respondents have a designated route (‘run’)
that they follow while working, whereas the remaining 24% do not, or just did not want
to reveal that information.
Table 3: Average Distance Travelled (km) per Day
Number of Respondents
Less than 1
3
1-5
16
5-10
18
More than 10
12
Unsure
1
All respondents listed beverage containers as their most commonly collected material.
The majority replied that they did not recover anything other than the refundable
containers and that they were not interested in other materials. Of those who

13
answered one or more choices (21), only four could not prioritize their choice. The
interview with Bernard confirmed that valoristes have expressed the issue of many
types of bottles being refused at grocery stores and bottle depots, which could explain
the choice to mainly collect beverage containers.
Valoristes collect from a variety of locations (Figure 4). Respondents to the survey were
given different options of places that they may collect materials from and asked to rank
them based on the volume of recyclables they collect from each source. Based on the
responses, valoristes source their materials from all of these locations, but collect
mostly from blue boxes and local parks and public spaces. 16 respondents ranked these
places as their major sources, where they collected the highest volume of materials.
Some valoristes have verbal agreements with businesses such as hotels and restaurants
to collect their returnable containers. Additionally, some homeowners and tenants
have encouraged valoristes by sorting their returnable containers in a “separate” bag,
which helps the work of the valoristes, as well as reducing injuries and littering through
damaged trash bags.
3.5 INCOME RELATED CHARACTERISTICS
While more than half of the respondents (60%) were receiving government social
assistance at the time, the collection and diversion of recyclable materials is an
important activity to maintain or to complement the income to cover daily expenses.
Valoristes earn money in exchange for the returnable items they collect (Table 4). Their
daily income depends on the types of materials collected, as well as the amount of time
they spend collecting these returnable containers.
Household pick-up
Business pick-up
Blue box
Dumpsters
Street cans
Parks, beaches/public spaces
Other
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Figure 4: Where do you collect your materials from?

14
Table 4: Average Daily Income from Binning
Number of respondents
Less than $20
36
Between $21 to $50
11
Between $50 to $100
1
Over $100
2
The following Figure 5 outlines the average daily income the valoristes earn from their
collecting activities and shows that the majority of the respondents (72%) earns less
than $20 per day.
According to the participants, the average daily spending of valoristes on items such as
food, travel, shelter and medication is less than $50, with 69% (34 respondents) of
valoristes spending less than $20 (Figure 6). For the majority of valoristes, the activity of
collecting containers provides an additional income to meet their basic needs (food,
clothing, medicine, cigarettes). Some valoristes stated that the money they earn is to
obtain alcohol or drugs, where others collect in order to raise funds for a social cause.
It is relatively common for valoristes to experience conflict while working. For this
survey, 48% of respondents (24) indicated that they do not usually experience conflict
while working, 46% say that they do, and 6% say that they sometimes do. This indicates
that valoristes have to navigate their everyday interactions in the public space to avoid
Figure 5: Avera ge daily inc ome
Under $20 $21-$50 $50-$100 Over $100
Figure 6: Avera te d aily spe nding
Under $20 $21-$50

15
conflicts and harm. Harassment, stigma and social exclusion can make the life of
valoristes even more difficult.
4. DISCUSSION
In the following section we discuss the four key main themes that were identified in the
research: (1) the challenges valoristes face in their everyday work experience; (2) the
roles valoristes play in resource recovery and waste management; (3) the role of the
cooperative in organizing resource recovery; and finally (4) the opportunities created by
inclusive resource recovery.
4.1 KEY CHALLENGES VALORISTES FACE IN DIVERTING BOTTLES AND
CANS
Waste pickers still face many challenges in gaining respect from the community. They
often experience humiliation and harassment from the public and law
enforcement. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the homeless and street population has
received more attention by the media which has brought to light issues surrounding
poverty, vulnerability and homelessness in many cities. However, often news and
media articles continue to associate waste pickers with homeless people, involved in
crime and violence, and are seen as dangerous. This narrative of the homeless and
street population as The Other focuses on ignoring and hiding the vulnerable away from
society rather than addressing the barriers to their integration. Instead of viewing the
waste picker population as being dependent on the state and the community for
handouts or resources, it is hoped that resource recovery is perceived as a sign of
resilience, community membership, and environmental stewardship.
The research has revealed that in Montreal similar to what has also been recently
confirmed by studies on resource recovery in Victoria (Sholanke, 2019) and in
Vancouver (Sholanke & Gutberlet, 2020) valoristes are exposed to many challenges.
Lack of economic resources and low income are the defining factors that also shape the
precarious living conditions, lack of transportation means and difficult working
conditions (marked by long distances traveled on foot, bicycle or on public
transportation and occupational health risks experienced in their daily work). The major
challenge however, is related to the lack of recognition and the denial of social
inclusion.
Although the attitude toward valoristes has improved, there still exists a stigma around
informal recycling. Some collectors are victims of “hurtful words” and “accusing looks”.
Many valoristes have experienced discrimination from supermarkets who claim that
valoristes steal containers from the recycling. There is also a lack of support from social
organizations who believe that the valoristes’ cooperative should not be encouraging
people to work with garbage without realizing that it has been happening for a long
time. This is a common argument, de-valuing the work with waste, without
acknowledging that waste is an outcome of the human condition. Particularly over the

16
past thirty years, waste generation has become more complex, with infinite types of
material and products being generated day-by-day; many of which are created for a
short life span and easy disposability. This makes waste management very challenging
and if not adequately conducted, creates threats to human and environmental health.
There is still very little awareness about the environmental role of informal resource
recovery. The fact that these works are diverting waste into the circular economy, thus
addressing climate change and some of the Sustainable Development Goals remains
unrecognized. More outreach and community engagement needs to happen to better
inform and educate the public and decision-makers about these facts. There is now
enough academic evidence that supports these demands, that can inform Les Valoristes
to take an active role in this kind of communication and awareness-building.
Stigmatization and prejudice make the (re)integration of waste pickers, binners,
diverters and valoristes into the labour market more difficult, beyond the already
existing hurdles of formal constraints and obligations, as was mentioned by Bernard.
The cooperative Les Valoristes has a desire to improve the quality of life for these
informal workers so that they do not feel intimidated, but rather remain autonomous
and proud. Before the cooperative was established in 2012, nothing was being done to
help waste pickers. Confronted with criminalisation, employer prejudice, and stigma,
they still face considerable barriers to stable employment and access to economic
opportunities.
Marica mentions as another hurdle, the ever-changing government landscape. Lack of
continuity in public policy makes it difficult to build up resilience for this groups of
workers and for their organizations. There are also issues with lobbyists (e.g.
supermarkets, government officials or liquor stores), who are trying to abolish the
deposit system.
The bottle refund system is an innovative form of redistributing resources to the poor,
generating income for vulnerable populations, incentivizing resource recovery and the
circular economy, besides providing opportunities for creating greater public
environmental awareness. Therefore, the push should be towards extending refund
systems, including many other items that are daily discarded and end up in landfills
(e.g., milk containers, coffee cups, hard shell containers, soft plastics, Styrofoam
packaging and many others that are made of recyclable materials but are not recycled).
Yet, according to Marica, there are great hurdles to changing the legislation in the
province to increasing the refund for containers. Increased awareness building,
community outreach and activism is required to shift these perspectives.
Of course, funding plays a large role in the working conditions for valoristes, because
the bottle depots cannot run without proper funding, so are limited in the number of
days/locations that are open. There is a need to establish more bottle depots to
increase the number of containers that can be recovered and to reduce the distance
travelled to return the containers. This would also reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
from transporting containers to one single depot.

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As Denis, a participant in the photovoice workshop stated, there is a “lack of political
will!”, which is a key hurdle in advancing more inclusive recycling programs.
4.2 ROLES VALORISTES PLAY IN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND WASTE
MANAGEMENT
Not all valoristes see themselves as environmental ambassadors contributing to
improve environmental health. However, they all know that they are collecting and
diverting resources from the waste stream into the recycling stream, thus supporting
the circular economy. Mario, one of the valoristes that participated in the photovoice
workshop expressed: “For more than 20 years, I clean my environment: garbage cans,
parks, bike paths ...from west to east of the island of Montreal!”. This activity has a
positive impact on reducing greenhouse gases and tackling sustainable development
goals (SDGs); two key issues on the Canadian political agenda, and a priority in urban
development as well.
Not only do informal collectors divert recyclable materials from the waste stream, but
they are creative and innovative in the way they collect. Many have assembled
collection carts from materials they’ve pulled out of the garbage and they use their own
strength for transportation.
The research found that they also play an active role in participation and decision-
making within the depot, which helps to enhance social inclusion, creating a sense of
belonging and the impression that their ideas are valid and valuable (Sholanke, 2019).
To further the role of resource recovery through the work of valoristes would like to see
an improvement in the container deposit system. Many say that “there are too many
non-returnable containers”. This means that often valoristes pick up packaging which
has no value attributed and for which the producers do not take any responsibility. Too
many containers and materials are not yet part of the stewardship programs or reverse
logistics efforts. The research captured the voices of valoristes who said that they
would also like to see an increase in container deposits that are already collected, e.g.,
with an increase for beverage cans from $0.05 to $0.10 each unit. Finally, their role as
resource diverters for the circular economy needs to be supported with an increase in
the amount of bottle depots to reduce the carbon footprint of the return process and
to increase the possibility of recovering resources.
4.3 ROLE OF THE COOPERATIVE IN ORGANIZING RESOURCE RECOVERY
The role of the cooperative Les Valoristes was highlighted by the participants as being a
save space, of providing support, and colleagues to exchange with and which support
each other. Most importantly, they have expressed to find hope through the work the

18
cooperative promotes. For example, some valoristes mentioned the possibility of
obtaining help in the form of information and advice from other valoristes at the co-op.
Overall, valoristes prefer to sell their returnable containers at the cooperative rather
than at a grocery store. Reasons given include:
- Receiving faster and more efficient service. No blocked or full machines.
Acceptance of crushed containers. This is an important aspect and was also
mentioned during the photovoice workshop, by Linda “with the Les Valoristes
bottle depot, we’re 100% welcomed, even if the cans are dirty or crushed!”.
- They feel human; not judged, but welcomed with respect and a smile.
- The contact and exchange with other valoristes in a sharing atmosphere is
valued, which for some, allows them to “break the isolation” while discussing a
common reality.
Les Valoristes solidarity cooperative shows leadership in its community. They are
constantly looking for better conditions to meet the growing needs of their members
and informal collectors. They also play an important role in raising awareness and
educating different organizations and individuals. The example of Les Valoristes
confirms the importance of cooperatives as spaces of the social and solidarity economy.
Cooperatives are important assets for social and human development in large urban
centers such as Montreal. Particularly the fact that they build bridges between the
waste pickers and other local actors, such as NGOs, universities and even to some
extend local government agencies is important because it offers opportunities to
improve the livelihood of that population, which often is quite vulnerable. The
academic literature recognizes the unique opportunities that member-based
organizations, such as cooperatives offer in tackling socio-economic and human
development issues, also related to the sustainable development goals (Gutberlet,
2020; Gutberlet et al. 2020).
In addition, Marica mentions that the cooperative actively engages in awareness
creation with the media, which allows them to educate the public about the work of
the valoristes, which has the potential to decrease stigma and prejudice and at the
same time contributes to greater environmental awareness. The Coop Les Valoristes is
also making gradual progress in educating the municipal government around the
importance of informal recyclers. In doing so, they may be able to solve some of the
challenges that the valoristes face, especially with lobbyists who are trying to abolish
the deposit system.
4.4 OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY INCLUSIVE RESOURCE RECOVERY.
The organized work of valoristes creates many opportunities. According to Marica,
increasing the number of containers that are accepted through the deposit program
would encourage people to recycle more, which would not only benefit the
environment, but the waste pickers as well.

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The Coop Les Valoristes has attempted to collaborate with environmental organizations
and provincial and municipal governments but, so far, with little reception. Here is an
opportunity to invest in trying to engage local government agents, educating them on
the benefits of the work done by the Coop Les Valoristes. Currently, the cooperative
collaborates with social organizations that work to combat homelessness, since a
significant amount of the waste pickers they work with are homeless, are experiencing
vulnerable housing condition or have previously been homeless.
Globally, there is an increasing awareness of the important role that waste pickers and
valoristes play in society, and that they greatly contribute to the cleanliness of the city,
which also reduces the amount of tax-payer dollars going toward street litter recovery
and clean up.
Throughout this report we have touched on several of the contributions from organized
resource recovery through not-for-profit organizations such as the Binning project in
Vancouver and the cooperative Les Valoristes. The benefits created include addressing
some of the SDGs (e.g., goal # 1: poverty reduction, goal # 11 sustainable cities and
communities and goal # 12 responsible production and consumption). Diverting
containers and other packaging into the circular economy helps reaching the aspiration
of zero waste, a goal that many cities are now pursuing. All these indirect and often
unknown benefits that derive from organized resource recovery, ultimately help build
more resilient communities. It is very difficult to reach the most excluded and
stigmatized individuals in our society. Providing greater support to these organizations
would increase their potential to act on the needs and demands of this population. As
mentioned earlier, the organization into cooperatives or other member-based
organizations are an opportunity to tackle these unresolved issues in the city.
Finally, the literature also confirms that working with the informal recycling sector
helps to further improve recycling rates and promote source separation, ultimately
addressing climate change and sustainability issues (Wilson et al., 2009).
5. CONCLUSION
This study reconfirms many of the findings reported by the exploratory study
conducted by Bordeleau and Batellier (2015) conducted five years earlier. Our
concluding remarks refer to the conditions, roles and aspirations as well as
opportunities of valoristes. Given that the population is overwhelmingly male and that
more than half of the surveyed valoristes were over 55 years old, the cooperative Les
Valoristes, should give specific attention to identifying female valoristes. It would be
advisable to regularly have campaigns to invite the unaffiliated and particularly the
female valoristes to join the cooperative. The presence of older aged valoristes creates
the need for specific health attention of these valoristes, who probably fall through the
cracks of the public system. Collaboration with local public health workers would be
advisable.

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More public outreach and awareness building needs to happen to further decrease the
humiliation and harassment from the public and law enforcement agents, which still
remains a key challenge for the valoristes.
We have also identified key policy innovations which would make a difference in the
livelihoods of valoristes. For example, increasing the return value for beverage cans
from $0.05 to $0.10 each unit, would make a big difference. Furthermore, including
other materials in refund systems would amplify the opportunities for informal
recyclers. This means that the current legislation in place in the province needs to
change towards increasing the refund for containers.
All valoristes further expressed hope for a permanent deposit return on a permanent
site, a deposit site that would be open year-round. The site should at least be open for
3 seasons (spring-summer-fall) and operating 5 days a week.
To further support valoristes it is critical (particularly given the experience of living in a
pandemic) to provide personal protective equipment (gloves) and picking equipment.
Furthermore, headlamps would be quite useful to allow the valoristes to work at night.
The establishment of the cooperative Les Valoristes is of extreme importance, fulfilling
many purposes that go beyond of what a bottle depot that receives containers for
refund value usually does. The cooperative represents a safe space; a space that
provides support to the valoristes and where they are able to meet and can experience
friendships, exchange ideas with colleagues and can support each other. Valoristes
have found hope in the work of the cooperative, which is a key ingredient for social
inclusion and to ultimately promote more sustainable livelihoods.
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