GFL Environmental

GFL Environmental Inc. was founded in 2007 by Canadian entrepreneur and businessman Patrick Dovigi, who had previous experience in the environmental services industry and wanted to establish a company that could unlock the value in smaller waste companies in Canada. The firm was originally established from the merger of several Ontario environmental services firms, including Direct Line Environmental, National Waste Services and Enviro West.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/torontos-new-garbage-magnate-stickhandles-his-way-to-the-front/article559083/ |title=Toronto's new garbage magnate stickhandles his way to the front |date=October 26, 2011 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |accessdate=May 19, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/10/19/garbage_contract_could_save_city_100m.html |title=Garbage contract could save city $100M |date=December 27, 2012 |newspaper=Toronto Star |accessdate=May 19, 2016}}

The same year that GFL was founded, the company gained the investment interest of Canaccord Genuity Corp. Three years later, in 2010, Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta private equity firm, made a $105 million investment in GFL.{{cite news |url=http://waste360.com/news/roark-invests-gfl-20101130 |title=Roark Capital Commits $105 Million to GFL Waste & Recycling |date= November 30, 2010 |newspaper= waste360.com |accessdate=May 31, 2016}}

GFL began to acquire environmental solution firms around Canada. In 2011, GFL acquired Turtle Island Recycling, a recycling company operating in Toronto.{{cite news |url=http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/green-life-purchases-turtle-island-recycling/ |title=Green for Life Purchases Turtle Island Recycling |date= December 20, 2011 |newspaper= Recycling Today |accessdate=May 18, 2016}}

The Matrec acquisition also represented GFL's entrance into the Quebec and eastern Ontario markets and increased GFL's total valuation to roughly $2.4 billion.

In 2014, GFL acquired the waste collection business of Contrans Group Inc., giving the company a larger solid waste management presence in Edmonton and Slave Lake, Alberta.{{cite news |url=http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-news/contrans-q3-profit-shrinks-to-8-1m-revenue-grows-to-153-3-million/ |title=Contrans Q3 profit shrinks to $8.1M; revenue grows to $153.3 million |date= October 27, 2014 |newspaper= Canadian Business |accessdate=May 18, 2016}} Also in 2014, GFL purchased the business operated by Waste Management in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.{{cite news |url=http://waste360.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/gfl-environmental-buy-waste-management-canadian-assets |title=GFL Environmental to Buy Waste Management Canadian Assets |date= May 8, 2014 |newspaper= waste360.com |accessdate=May 31, 2016}}

A reorganization of GFL's share capital was completed in late 2014. The reorganization saw Roark Capital Group, which had provided capital to GFL since 2010, selling its stake in the company.

In February 2016, GFL completed the acquisition of Services Matrec Inc. (Matrec), the waste management division of Montreal-based TransForce.{{cite news |date=February 4, 2016 |title=Private equity investors pour $458 mln into GFL's acquisition of Matrec |newspaper=The PE Hub Network |url=https://www.pehub.com/canada/2016/2/private-equity-investors-pour-458-mln-into-gfls-acquisition-of-matrec/ |accessdate=May 18, 2016}} The $800 million purchase represented GFL's largest acquisition in its company history and was supported by an equity investment of $458 million made by a fund managed by Macquarie Group and an additional investment provided by Highbridge Principal Strategies and other co-investors.{{cite news |date=January 25, 2016 |title=BMO forms Fortified Trust and prepares to enter the world of secured real estate credit lines |newspaper=The Financial Post |url=http://business.financialpost.com/investing/investing-pro/bmo-forms-fortified-trust-and-prepares-to-enter-the-world-of-secured-real-estate-credit-lines |accessdate=June 3, 2016}}

GFL expanded into the United States in September 2016, through the acquisition of Michigan-based Rizzo Environmental Services, which was merged with a new U.S. subsidiary of GFL.{{Cite web |date=2016-10-10 |title=GFL Environmental Inc. Announces First U.S. Acquisition |url=https://wasteadvantagemag.com/gfl-environmental-inc-announces-first-u-s-acquisition/ |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=Waste Advantage Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=GFL Environmental, Rizzo Environment complete deal |url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/gfl-rizzo-acquisition/ |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=Recycling Today |language=en}} Rizzo had provided collection services to more than 40 municipalities in Southeast Michigan and northern Ohio. GFL purchased Rizzo Environmental around the same time that Rizzo's CEO, Chuck Rizzo, was indicted for bribery and wire fraud, among other charges.[https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2017/11/09/rizzo-pleads-guilty-bribery/107497240/ Robert Snell, Trash Giant Rizzo Pleads Guilty to Bribery], The Detroit News, November 9, 2017.

On October 10, 2018, GFL announced it was going to buy American company, Waste Industries, for an undisclosed amount.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article219777470.html?#emlnl=Breaking_Newsletter&id=c25vd2Nvb2w3NzZAZ21haWwuY29t|title=Raleigh's Waste Industries is being sold to Canadian company|work=newsobserver|access-date=2018-10-10|language=en}}{{Cite news|title=Raleigh's Waste Industries merging with Canadian company|language=en|work=newsobserver|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article219777470.html?#emlnl=Breaking_Newsletter&id=c25vd2Nvb2w3NzZAZ21haWwuY29t|access-date=2018-10-10}}

GFL, along with subsidiaries under its control, have faced a number of workplace safety and environmental issues. Environmental issues include the spill of 200,000 gallons of used oil by a subsidiary in Illinois;[https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/IEPA-seeks-action-against-Granite-City-company-13594341.php IEPA Seeks Action Against Granite City Company After Large Used Oil Spill], The Telegraph, February 6, 2019. a $300,000 fine from violation of federal guidelines on the sale of tetrachloroethylene (the company and its CEO, Patrick Dovigi, were charged with violation of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act);[https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/9075782-pickering-company-gfl-environmental-fined-300-000-for-epa-infractions/ Jeff Mitchell, DurhamRegion.com], December 10, 2018. and an injunction by a Cobb County, Georgia court halting the operation of a landfill.[https://www.wastedive.com/news/gfl-operated-georgia-landfill-battles-court-injunction/558084/ Leia Larsen, GFL-Operated Grady Road Landfill Landfill Battles Court Injunction], WasteDive, July 3, 2019[https://www.apnews.com/8494384945474c33a80837450f7f3ffa Kevin Myrick, Judge: Landfill Injunction Rules Stay in Place], The AP, May 24, 2019 GFL has been sued by municipalities and farmers for its soil dumping practices.{{cite web|url=https://www.durhamregion.com/news/scugog-launches-105-million-lawsuit-to-cover-costs-of-cleaning-up-greenbank-airport-site/article_996396ec-4789-5778-ac00-4661fdeb7ac5.html|title=Scugog launches $105 million lawsuit to cover costs of cleaning up Greenbank airport site|publisher=durhamregion.com|date=April 18, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toxic-dirt-dumped-in-ontario-s-prime-farmland/article_160bb669-6d4a-5dc5-bedc-8966120c720a.html|title=Toxic dirt dumped in Ontario's prime farmland|work=thestar.com|date=October 20, 2014}}

In March 2020, the company held its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange, pricing shares at $19 each and raising $1.4 billion, giving the company as a whole a market value of $6.1 billion.{{Cite news|date=2020-03-03|title=GFL raises $1.4 billion in IPO amid volatile markets|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gfl-environmental-ipo-idUSKBN20Q05M|access-date=2020-08-18}}

A 2020 report linked GFL executive Paul Borrelli with Antonio Borrelli, nephew of Toronto mobster Pietro Scarcella.{{Cite web|url=https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/545066-ben-axler/5486516-investigating-internet-claims-gfl-environmentals-ceo-ties-to-organized-crime|title=Investigating Internet Claims That GFL Environmental's CEO Has Ties To "Organized Crime"|publisher=seekingalpha.com|date=August 18, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/PR%20Newswire/a26c28334d67171cef633a5b476251f4|title=Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE/TSX: GFL)|publisher=apnews.com|date=August 18, 2020}}

In July 2021, GFL created the Resource Recovery Alliance (RRA) in response to the Government of Ontario's extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation requiring product and packaging producers to operate and fully finance Ontario's Blue Box program.

On August 17, 2021, GFL acquired solid waste business, Terrapure Environmental Ltd., and its subsidiaries for $743.8 million.{{Cite web|title=GFL closes its acquisition of Terrapure|url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/gfl-acquires-terrapure/|access-date=2021-08-18|website=Recycling Today|language=en}} The deal did not include Terrapure's battery recycling business.

In May 2022, the GFL acquired Sprint Waste Services, a solid waste company with assets in Texas and Louisiana.{{Cite web |last=Dorbian |first=Iris |date=2022-05-02 |title=GFL Environmental acquires US-based Sprint Waste Services |url=https://www.pehub.com/gfl-buys-sprint-waste-services/ |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=PE Hub |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kamczyc |first=Alex |date=2022-05-03 |title=GFL Environmental acquires Sprint Waste Services |url=https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/article/gfl-environmental-acquires-sprint-waste-services/ |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=Waste Today |language=en}}

File:Ingram Transfer Station - Toronto - 2019 - 02.jpg

In 2011, GFL won a seven-year contract to collect residential garbage from approximately 165,000 homes in west Toronto, specifically in the residential neighborhoods between Yonge Street and the Humber River. The contract was expected to save the city roughly $11 million per year or $78 million over its total term. GFL's award of the contract was particularly publicized because it represented one of Toronto's first moves to privatize and outsource the city's residential garbage collection.

GFL's contract with the city of Toronto to collect residential waste west of Yonge Street began in August 2012.

In January 2015, the Halifax council awarded GFL three new contracts to collect residential waste in Halifax for the next four years{{cite news |url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1266094-four-companies-pick-up-60m-in-halifax-trash-contracts |title= Four companies pick up $60m in Halifax trash contracts |date=January 28, 2015 |newspaper=The Chronicle Herald |accessdate=May 18, 2016}}

In 2016, the city of Windsor chose to keep their waste and recycling collection service outsourced and elected to retain GFL's services for the next seven years.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-garbage-cupe-1.3458250 |title= Windsor garbage to remain outsourced |date=February 22, 2016 |publisher=CBC News |accessdate=May 18, 2016}} Windsor first contracted out its waste collection to GFL in 2010 after the city's workers went on a prolonged strike.

In 2011, GFL was awarded a contract by the city of Toronto to excavate the site of the Pan Am Aquatics Centre in Toronto that was opened for the Pan Am Games in July 2015. In January 2016, GFL acquired Anchor Shoring Group.{{cite news |url=http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/financing/gfl-to-buy-anchor-shoring-group-160487/ |title= GFL to acquire Anchor Shoring Group |date=January 18, 2016 |newspaper= Canadian Manufacturing |accessdate=May 18, 2016}}

In 2022, GFL acquired Coco Paving and its affiliates to create a group called Green Infrastructure Partners.{{cite web|url= https://investors.gflenv.com/English/news/news-details/2022/GFL-Environmental-Completes-Previously-Announced-Spin-off-of-GFL-Infrastructure-Group-to-Create-Green-Infrastructure-Partners/default.aspx|title=GFL Environmental Completes Previously Announced Spin-off of GFL Infrastructure Group to Create Green Infrastructure Partners|publisher=GFL|date=April 25, 2022}}

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Category:Waste management companies of Canada

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Category:Environmental agencies in Canada

Category:Business services companies established in 2007

Category:Canadian companies established in 2007

Category:2020 initial public offerings

Category:Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange

Category:Waste companies established in 2007