Environmental Services — June 16, 2009

Recycling old cars - Clear The Air! in Montreal

    6 months of free public transit, credits towards the purchase of bicycles
    and electric scooters, and car-sharing discounts

    MONTREAL, June 16 /CNW Telbec/ - Residents of the Montreal area who own a
1995 model year or older vehicle can now have it recycled in an
environmentally responsible manner and get six months of public transit
passes, a credit towards the purchase of a bicycle, an electric bicycle or an
electric scooter, and a discount on the Communauto car-sharing service.
    Clear The Air!, a partner of the national Retire Your Ride car recycling
program, is back. The program will run in the Montreal area until March 31,
2011, thanks to support from the City of Montreal and the main public transit
systems in the metropolitan area: Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT),
Société de transport de Montreal (STM), Société de transport de Laval (STL),
Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) and Association des Conseils
intermunicipaux de transport (ACIT).
    The Communauto car-sharing service and bicycle and electric scooter
retailers are also participating in the program.
    Car-owners can register for the program by visiting www.faitesdelair.org
or dialling 1 888 819-7330.
    "Six months of free public transit in exchange for a highly polluting
vehicle is an offer that should appeal to many Montrealers," said André
Bélisle, President of the Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution
atmosphérique (AQLPA), which is administering the program in Québec. "The
support of the City of Montreal, the main public transit systems in the
metropolitan area, and the other partners in the Clear The Air! program will
make it possible to considerably improve air quality in Montreal, where
according to Info-Smog there are an average of 64 days of poor air quality per
year."

    Priority #1: Public transit

    The current phase of Clear The Air! is Quebec's contribution to the
national Retire Your Ride program, which is funded by the Government of Canada
and administered by the Clear Air Foundation. The AQLPA plans to take 20,000
vehicles off Quebec roads by the spring of 2011 and promote increased use of
public transit.
    "Mass transit reduces air pollution, greenhouse gases, energy waste and
urban congestion," says Jean-Jacques Beldié, President of the Société de
transport de Laval and President of the Association du transport urbain du
Québec. "With Clear The Air! owners of older vehicles can do their part for
the environment while supporting sustainable transportation."
    "The Clear The Air! program is fully consistent with the objectives set
out in the City of Montreal's Transport Plan," said Monique Worth, Mayor of
Pierrefonds-Roxboro Borough and associate councillor responsible for the
environment and sustainable development at the City of Montreal. "We must do
what it takes to improve the quality of the air we breathe and promote modal
transfer from the car to mass transit and people-powered transit. In
supporting initiatives of this type, we are taking concrete action to improve
our environment."

    Spokesperson: Joelle Morin

    Why target vehicles of model year 1995 or older? "Because they account
for 10% of the cars on the road in Quebec but are responsible for half the
vehicular pollution," says actor Joelle Morin, spokesperson for Clear The Air!
"The pre-1995 cars release 19 times more smog-producing pollutants than recent
models. Taking them off the roads is a simple and effective way to support the
environment and the planet."

    Rewards and partnerships

    Participants in Clear The Air! can choose to receive six monthly transit
passes (TRAM Zones 1 to 8) plus a discounted subscription to the Communauto
car-sharing service (at $8 per month).
    In addition, participants can choose from a selection of other rewards:

    - a credit of up to $490 towards the purchase of a bicycle, an electric
      bicycle or an electric scooter;
    - a $700 credit towards the purchase of an EVT scooter (available from
      Ecomoto);
    - $300 in cash (instead of the transit passes).

    The AQLPA issues a tax receipt for $55 to $100 for each car taken off the
road. Participants will also be helping to support a worthwhile cause, the
Quebec Branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, a longstanding partner of
Clear The Air! In addition, all participants in the program will be entitled
to a discounted subscription to Communauto's "Le Lièvre" package.
    Talks are under way with other potential partners about adding other
rewards as the program is rolled out to all regions of Quebec.
    Clear The Air! is also developing a network of professional recyclers
that subscribe to the National Code of Practice for automotive recyclers.
    All components of the old cars that can be recycled will be recycled, and
all parts containing toxic products will be disposed of in a safe manner.
    A partner recycler in the Montreal area demonstrated the process before
invited guests in downtown Montreal, crushing several vehicles with a giant
press.
    Recycling 20,000 highly polluting vehicles will reduce emissions of
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), two primary
pollutants that form tropospheric ozone, a respiratory ingredient that is a
major component of smog. The program also helps to fight climate change and to
increase energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption and the emission of
carbon dioxide (CO(2)), the main greenhouse gas.

    About Clear The Air! (www.faitesdelair.org) and AQLPA (www.aqlpa.com)

    Clear The Air! is a Quebec program for recycling older highly polluting
vehicles, launched by AQLPA in 2003. Its goals are to help improve air
quality, fight climate change and encourage Quebecers to make more sustainable
transportation choices. Clear The Air! has been a partner of the national
Retire Your Ride program since the spring of 2009.
    The Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique
(AQLPA), founded in 1982, is one of Quebec's oldest environmental groups. Its
mission is to help protect the air we breathe and the atmosphere of the entire
planet in order to safeguard both human health and the earth's ecosystems
through awareness-raising, education and targeted actions.

    About Retire Your Ride -- www.retireyourride.ca

    The Government of Canada has committed $92 million over four years to the
Retire Your Ride program to help Canadians recycle their older, higher
polluting vehicles and make sustainable transportation choices, leading to
reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Retire Your Ride is a
national program designed to retire 1995 model year and older vehicles in an
environmentally responsible manner in an effort to improve air quality,
protect the environment and encourage Canadians to use green means of
transportation. The national Retire Your Ride program is managed by the Clear
Air Foundation, funded by the Government of Canada and supported by a network
of experienced local partners across the country as well as a national network
of call centres and car recyclers.

For further information: Martine Nadeau, (514) 238-0568,
mn@pingcommunication.ca; Lucie Kechician, (514) 843-4160, ext. 221,
lucie@pingcommunication.ca; Photos and press kits available upon request;
www.faitesdelair.org; www.retireyourride.ca