City to sell Waste Management expertise to the world

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel and Chief Financial Officer Lorna Rosen announced that the City will internationally market the waste management expertise of the City and its partners, through Waste RE-Solutions Edmonton, a corporation wholly owned by the City..

PHOTO CREDIT - CBC.ca

Edmonton - October 10, 2012 - Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel and Chief Financial Officer Lorna Rosen announced that the City will internationally market the waste management expertise of the City and its partners, through a corporation wholly owned by the City.

Waste RE-Solutions Edmonton is the name of the corporation for conducting this marketing effort.

An initial focus area for Waste RE-Solutions Edmonton will be China, through a joint venture with Canfit Resource Recovery Technologies located in Beijing. Research and business development missions to China led by the Mayor convinced the City that the timing was right to pursue waste management business opportunities.

“The Edmonton system that underlines this new initiative has strong potential in developing markets, like China, where there is clear desire to apply innovative solutions to waste management in a manner similar to Edmonton’s,” said Mayor Mandel. “Both Edmonton and its partner agencies are well positioned within this context and this is an important opportunity to boost Edmonton’s innovation and economic profile abroad.”

Rosen said the establishment of Waste RE-solutions Edmonton under the guidance of a Board of Directors will ensure that the waste services provided to the citizens of Edmonton will not be affected by this venture. “In fact, future profits of this company would provide a new source of revenue for our City and contribute to the financial sustainability of our leading waste management system.”

Edmonton’s integrated waste management system will be used as a template for municipalities seeking similar sustainable systems, or components of Edmonton’s system. Waste RE-Solutions Edmonton will work with existing partners, Greys Paper Recycling Industries Ltd., Enerkem and GEEP Inc., and with other Alberta and Canadian companies in its global marketing efforts.