October at-a-glance … environment

Quebec grants six month “tolerance” for new recycling/reclamation requirements

Quebec’s Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Climate Change (MOE) has granted six months’ tolerance beyond the original implementation deadline for the province’s recycling/reclamation requirements. The grace period is pending demonstrated efforts to comply with the regulatory requirements.

“We have received several requests regarding the December 5, 2021, deadline to implement a recovery and reclamation program in accordance with the regulation,” the MOE stated in an October 14 communique. “It is not our intention to extend the deadline. Our main objective remains to improve the end-of-life management of refrigeration and freezing appliances designed and intended for commercial or institutional use, and we want to give you the conditions to achieve this.”

Meanwhile, NAFEM continues to work with industry stakeholders to identify solutions to the recycling/reclamation rule. “The current rule is based on the domestic market and does not take into account the intricacies of the commercial foodservice industry or the business-to-business sales process,” said Charlie Souhrada, CFSP, NAFEM vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs. “We’re working to outline the differences and plan to use the information to develop a realistic program with the Ministry.” 

The new rule applies to refrigerators, freezers, refrigerated vending machines, ice machines, food displays, dairy bar equipment, cooling cells, beverage centers and beverage coolers. The rule excludes used appliances or anything heavier than 300 kilograms or 660 pounds, walk-ins, or products that are less than 2.5 cubic feet.

2022 HFC allocations and allowances announced

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 2022 hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) allowances toward its goal of phasing down HFCS by 85 percent by 2036. Allowances addressed include those for specific applications, production, and consumption. EPA is tasked with managing the phasedown of HFCs under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM).