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Émilie Delvoye, director of communications at Prompt, sits down with Yves Bernard of Biopterre and Émilie Dupont of SADC Kamouraska to discuss their collaborative project aimed at repurposing waste materials.
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Émilie: Today, we’re kicking off our new podcast season by discussing the recovery of organic and inorganic waste as part of a collaborative project. My guests today are Yves Bernard, a research professional at CCTT Biopterre—a center for innovation and applied research specializing in the development of bioproducts and biotechnologies—and Émilie Dupont, a consultant in the circular economy and the economy of functionality and cooperation at SADC, a development organization in Kamouraska. Good morning, everyone.
Yves Bernard and Émilie Dupont: Good morning
Émilie: The project we’re discussing today was launched over the past year and aims to develop a computer tool—Biobase—that will use computational algorithms to define mixture properties in order to facilitate the recovery of waste materials. How did this project get started? What was the catalyst?
Yves Bernard: Actually, Biopterre has been considering this project for several years. At the same time, over the past few years, there was the added complexity of finding partners—both from the municipal and industrial sectors, as well as complementary partners—to establish Biobase as an IT tool, while also taking into account the specific challenges faced by each of these entities, whether municipal or industrial.
Émilie Dupont: It often takes a long time to set up this kind of project, where you have the tool—but it’s a tool that supports a company’s organizational strategy. So you end up at a sort of crossroads between environmental issues, economic gains, and innovation projects. Unfortunately, these aren’t always the easiest to fund or secure support for.
Émilie: We’re talking about a period of roughly how long?
Yves Bernard: We’ve been thinking about it since 2017. We did develop some algorithms and an in-house database during those years.
Émilie: Can you tell us a little bit about the need that led to this project?
Yves Bernard: The main need was related to the quality of information on the characteristics of the materials. We may know that a waste generator produces waste materials near our company, but until we have the characteristics of that specific material, it’s difficult to create blends, perform calculations, or develop bioproducts from those materials. That was the first catalyst. The second catalyst is that, in the field of waste recovery, there is a need to share information between the generators of these materials and waste and the companies that can process and package them. For example, composting facilities or other users. Information must also be shared with end users because there are recovery criteria—that is, various environmental criteria—to be met.
Émilie: That’s why it’s important to have brought together five partners for your projects. Could you briefly tell us a little about their backgrounds?
Yves Bernard: There are municipal partners such as the Kamouraska SADC and the City of Trois-Rivières. There are also private partners—processing companies—such as the Épursol facilities in the Outaouais region and Groupe Savard in the Saguenay region, as well as Arseno Balayage, a company that recycles street sweepers in the Trois-Rivières area. There are also financial partners like Prompt and NSERC at the federal level.
Émilie: Émilie, from the SADC’s perspective, what was the need for getting involved in this project?
Émilie Dupont: We were exploring this idea in parallel—that is, by working in the circular economy, and specifically in industrial symbiosis, we’re trying to repurpose companies’ outputs so they can become inputs for other companies. We saw that certain materials could be repurposed relatively easily as substitutes—that is, on a one-for-one basis. And we also observed that certain materials—whether because they were more complex or present in smaller quantities—were much harder to repurpose on a one-for-one basis. That’s when we thought that perhaps if we could create blends, we would truly generate value, and this would lead to either new products or new opportunities.
Émilie: So, what are the expected outcomes of this project?
Yves Bernard: We want simplicity—that is, the circularity of materials. We want Biobase to be a decision-support tool that facilitates the planning and development of new products, which will generate new economic activity and jobs, and at the same time reduce the environmental impact associated with poor waste management, thereby enabling the development of more partnerships that will drive innovation and the creation of new products. Ultimately, this will lead to a reduction in negative impacts—such as less landfill disposal, which still incurs costs and emits GHGs—as well as better management of raw materials.
Émilie Dupont: Of course, this will also help create synergies between companies. In terms of regional development, it creates value and helps make the most of materials and resources.
Émilie: You worked on this project collaboratively, and you’ve already mentioned many tangible benefits, haven’t you? Are there any other points you’d like to add regarding the benefits of working as a team?
Yves Bernard: While we’ve developed partnerships with industrial companies and municipal facilities, we’re also collaborating with Productique Québec. This is to incorporate concepts of artificial intelligence, as well as automation and user interface design, to make the system as user-friendly as possible for potential users—which will include the companies participating in the project— but also other companies or municipal and government agencies, which will also be able to access the Biobase database.
Émilie: Excellent. So, what does innovating through projects like this really mean to you?
Yves Bernard: What’s absolutely important is having high-quality information in order to innovate. Furthermore, innovation must also take place on a daily basis, which means having access to information—specifically, a database of waste material characteristics. This will greatly facilitate innovation in companies, whether in the environmental sector, the manufacturing sector, or other fields.
Émilie: So, it’s an innovation that will actually support innovation.
Yves Bernard: Exactly.
Émilie Dupont: Of course, it’s also about optimizing materials management for businesses—and even opening up new avenues. It’s about helping them ensure long-term sustainability. Materials management involves costs. Collectively, we’re still sending too many materials to landfills—materials that are still made up of molecules that are entirely recoverable. There’s also the idea that by creating blends, we can develop new products—some of which are currently imported. This also ties into issues of sovereignty and regional autonomy.
Émilie: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this project.
Yves Bernard: Thank you very much.
Émilie Dupont: It’s always a pleasure.
Émilie: If you, too, are interested in developing impactful, innovative, and collaborative projects, I invite you to visit Prompt’s website to learn more.
