MONTREAL – Are you looking to make you home more eco-friendly? A conference in St-Laurent is hoping to help you and your family get there.
The Eco-Citizens' Rendez-Vous at the sports complex on Thimens Blvd. takes place Saturday, with some 30 exhibitors and several speakers guiding the public through topics including housekeeping without harmful products and reducing household waste.
There will be talks on climate change, a guided tour of a 'zero waste' apartment and even some animals from the Ecomuseum Zoo for a presentation on biodiversity in the St. Lawrence Valley.
The family-friendly event is free and runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
It comes one day after some of Quebec's most important industries converged to tackle the difficult topic of reducing their carbon footprint. That includes airlines.
"I think everyone looks at fuel, but another question we get a lot from our customers – and even our employers and even my family – is 'why don't you guys recycle?'" said Keith Lawless, senior environment director at Air Transat. "What people don't realize is that most of our flights are international, and legally we don't have the right to recycle international waste because of concerns over animal health."
One keynote speaker on Friday was Marie-Josee Richer, who founded Prana snacks in 2005 with her husband. The company tries to use ingredients that were cultivated with a low carbon footprint.
"I guess consumers got in line," she said. "We were authentic in what we're doing and it was just a snowball from day one."
