Reduce, reuse, rethink
Robyn Fadden
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Matériaux pour les arts Montréal helps turn reusable industrial waste into art
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In a city with twice-weekly garbage pick-up and an often criticized recycling program, waste reduction might seem left up to the individual. But change, only lasts when implemented at all levels, from the Oct. 19-25 nationwide Waste Reduction Week to legislative initiatives like the Quebec Residual Materials Management Action Plan (aimed at reusing or recycling 65 percent of the annual 7.1 million tonnes of recoverable waste), to even turning textile remnants into public art.Matériaux pour les arts Montréal (MAM) is a non-profit organization that bridges government, industry and communities. Started as a city-funded feasibility study four years ago, based on a New York City model that transferred industrial leftovers to artists, MAM evolved into a project partnered with the city, the private sector and Recyc-Québec. Now, through a web-based portal (Banque Interactive MAM, bimam.qc.ca), it connects all manner of local industry, commerce and institutions (ICIs) with schools, community centres and artist-run organizations.
"There's an ongoing pressure to change the way industry manages waste, sending less to landfills, increasing reuse and recycling," says Nadia Bini, MAM's general director. "It's increasingly becoming part of provincial legislation."
While industry's bottom line remains efficiency and profit, Bini says companies' motivations are more nuanced than that: "In my experience with industry, people are quite sensitive - most of the companies I've worked with have been fantastic and
very much want to do their part."MAM's work to transform post-production waste like fabric and plastic remnants into artistic endeavours "isn't done to change industry and to take away potential sales from suppliers - that's not the market we're targeting," says Bini. "It's a recognition of abundance - it's common sense to use things until they're done being used to their full capacity."
For more info, see mamontreal.qc.ca or call 514-265-0111.
