The Town of La Pocatière, where I was mayor, was the first town in all of eastern Quebec to install brown bins, with the help of federal and provincial subsidies, of course. We support recycling.
Initially, we had recycling platforms and facilities for capturing leachate. Those facilities then became a biomethanation plant. It is managed by the Rivière-du-Loup region Société d'économie mixte d'énergie renouvelable, or SÉMER, a supraregional body. At the time, the project was to cost $10 million, but it ultimately cost $25 million. It included the biomethanation plant, which today produces gas, part of which is sold. In any event, investment of about $5 million remains to be made to make it completely operational.
We have developed our capacities, but the plant has still only been in operation since 2010, and it is now 2023. These things take a lot of time, and a lot of money has to be invested before any concrete results are achieved, all our goodwill notwithstanding. We hope to improve regional cooperation for using these new tools and extending that use on a larger scale. However, I do note that Quebec City and Laval have recently abandoned their biomethanation project.
I know I am digressing a bit.
Mr. Chair, do I have any time left? It seems like I still have at least five minutes. Be generous. You have been with everyone up to now.