I’ve been ordering pizzas about every two weeks for 20 years. At two per delivery, that equates to about 1,000 cardboard boxes thrown in the garbage. Because everyone knows that soiled cardboard goes in the trash. At least, that’s what I thought before I saw a post on Facebook explaining that only fat-soaked cans are not recyclable. Whoops.
A few days later, at the grocery store, without thinking too much about it, I exchanged a box of wooden clementines, which I had just taken, for another made entirely of cardboard, which could therefore be recycled. Why ? I had read a few weeks earlier on my newsfeed that some fruit wrappers were easier to recycle than others. The information struck me.
Someone, somewhere, made me change my recycling habits without me realizing it. And I discovered that this person is Grégory Pratte, head of public affairs at Tricentris, sorting center, and man-orchestra behind the Facebook page of this non-profit organization.
“I relaunched the Facebook page at the start of the pandemic,” explains Grégory Pratte, in an interview with News. While some have taken advantage of the confinements to bake bread or learn a language, the public affairs manager has given new meaning to his organization’s Facebook page, which until now was mainly used to transmit news related to Tricentris. “I told my boss: people are isolated at home, I will inform them and take the time to chat with them,” he says.
A lot of success
The success of Tricentris on Facebook has since exceeded all expectations. The page grew from 5,000 to 14,000 followers in one year, then to over 30,000 by late summer 2021 and over 45,000 currently. The publications of what began as a pandemic project are regularly liked and shared more than 1,000 times, statistics to make many major media dream. It happens to Grégory Pratte to pay to increase the visibility of certain publications, but they generally enjoy good virality, and only 10% of their reach is paid.
“I post 9 or 10 times a week. I also answer dozens of questions a day on Messenger, ”says the public affairs manager. He also puts videos online, to provide information requested by subscribers or as part of his series « Grégory does his grocery shopping ».
The publications, all quite short, answer questions that everyone asks about what goes or does not go in the recycling bin, but also specify how the materials are treated and where they are recycled. “If you just say whether an object can be recycled or not, people forget. So I explain why we can recycle something. It marks more, ”underlines Grégory Pratte. This is why, for example, several weeks after seeing a publication, we instinctively know which case of clementines to choose at the grocery store.
He is sometimes inspired by the questions he receives, but also by his daily life. “I was barbecuing on a Saturday night. I took a picture with my phone of the aluminum foil, and I showed how it should be recycled: in a ball, with the dirty side inside,” he recalls. The post — his most popular to date — was viewed by 1.7 million people.
Professional dedication
How does he find the time to take care of this page, in addition to his normal work? The head of public affairs admits it, he takes a lot on his shoulders. “I often start at 6:30 a.m., and I can finish at 10 p.m. I also answer a lot of questions on weekends. If I counted my time, I would probably be entitled to two years of vacation,” he says, laughing.
Such dedication is all the more surprising since answering questions from people from all over Quebec is not the mission of Tricentris, which has sorting centers in Lachute, Terrebonne and Gatineau. « But I’m not going to tell residents of Longueuil or Gaspé to ask their questions to Recyc-Québec because they are not on our territory, » notes Grégory Pratte.
This benevolence is also reflected in his Facebook posts. “The environment is often guilt-driven. We always feel like we’re not good enough. Me, I tell people that if they are here, it’s because they want to improve. I try to accompany them and be nice. It sounds corny, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted,” he explains.
And it works. While social networks are often a collection of nastiness, the publications of Tricentris and the dozens or hundreds of comments under each of them are on the contrary a model of courtesy.
“Thank you, that’s good to know, that’s what I’m going to do”, “Thank you again and again”, “Your publications are always extremely relevant and we learn a lot! Thank you ! » : it was not necessary to search the page for a long time to find messages of the kind. The three were under a posting online the day of our interview, explaining whether or not to remove the lid from the cans before recycling them (answer: yes, then fold the lid and put it in the can).
The Tricentris Facebook page has become over the months a real community, which helps thousands of Quebecers to decide what goes in their recycling bin and to favor the purchase of products protected by recyclable packaging. It’s still good for a pandemic project.
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