The company that provides waste and recycling services to many municipalities and businesses in southeast Saskatchewan, including Estevan, has been sold.
Green for Life (GFL) Environmental Inc. has purchased the Regens Group, which includes Regens Disposal, from the Baniulis family. The deal was announced in a letter sent to Regens customers last week.
Terms of the purchase were not released.
Luke Pelosi, a spokesperson for GFL, said the company knew that Gene and Margaret Baniulis were looking to sell the company and retire after more than 30 years of owning the business, and GFL saw that as a prime opportunity to enter southeast Saskatchewan. 聽
Regens will now operate under the GFL name. Pelosi said the red Regens garbage trucks will be painted with GFL鈥檚 bright green colour, and then the company will begin the process of slowly changing the bins.
鈥淭here are thousands of bins out there, so that typically takes a little bit longer,鈥� Pelosi told the Mercury. 鈥淏ut in time you will see those bins get rebranded, and furthermore, all new (commercial) bins that get out there in the communities will be branded with our signature green colour and the GFL logo.鈥�
While there won't be any job losses, Pelosi noted that Gene and Margaret鈥檚 two sons won鈥檛 be remaining with the company, and will move on to other opportunities.
Nothing will change when it comes to service levels, either, Pelosi said. The garbage and recycling will be picked up by the same people and on the same days.
鈥淭he current contract that is in place, we will continue to service it exactly as Regens had been servicing it,鈥� said Pelosi.
Regens was also looking to launch a composting service for Estevan. Pelosi said GFL is a leader in composting in Canada; the company handles "a good portion" of the composting in Toronto.
鈥淲e believe strongly in waste diversion from landfills, be it recycling and or composting,鈥� said Pelosi.
GFL has been investing in compost operations in Regina, and would be happy to explore such opportunities in the Estevan area, he said.
Pelosi said GFL has a presence across the country, with operations in all of the provinces. It has been in Saskatchewan for some time, but last year that presence increased when it partnered with EnviroTec Services in Saskatoon.
鈥淥ver the past year, we've been investing further in Saskatchewan, in the Saskatoon and Regina areas primarily, but we've always been on the lookout for partnering with leading waste and environmental service businesses,鈥� said Pelosi.
GFL also has a facility in Esterhazy.
Gene Baniulis said his family was approached by GFL about a sale, and negotiations took place over about 18 months. Baniulis said he will miss the staff and the customers, some of whom have been there since Regens opened in 1985.
鈥淭hey know us well and we know them well,鈥� said Baniulis. 鈥淭he people who do it right now for me are going to do it for the new owner, just with a different brand or a different name.鈥�
When the company started, it had just one garbage truck operating in Estevan. They had 32 bins at commercial sites in the Energy City. Now the company has 25 trucks, thousands of containers in more than 30 communities.
鈥淵ou make a lot of relationships with communities, the mayors and councillors and administrators,鈥� said Baniulis, who hopes he can remain in contact with them.
Baniulis expects GFL will do a great job, and it will help that the staff will remain the same locally.
He said he enjoyed "absolutely everything" about owning the business. It was a great industry to be a part of, with great people to work with every day.
鈥淲e had great staff, and things always change,鈥� said Baniulis. 鈥淥ur environment keeps changing, and these kind of companies change with the environment, and the needs and the wants of people.鈥�
Environmental regulations have changed a lot. The introduction of recycling has been a game-changer.
鈥淭hirty-two years ago, we never recycled anything,鈥� said Baniulis. 鈥淣ow it seems we have as many for garbage as we have for recycling.鈥�
Landfill regulations have also changed. Baniulis recalls that when the business opened, the city didn't have a gate at its landfill; people just drove down there and unloaded it without a charge.
And at one time, people left garbage bags at the end of the curb. That doesn't happen in many communities any longer. Garbage trucks are smoother and can carry more trash.
Bills are now sent via e-mail to customers, and they keep in touch with customers through social media.
Baniulis said he will miss owning the company, but he believes now is the time to retire.聽
