Phoenix Recycling

On October 16, 1991 Phoenix Recycling Inc was born, with nothing but a Ford, F-150 half ton truck and an unstoppable attitude. In the beginning there was just one of us, Kristjan Backman, our president did it all. In the mornings he serviced our 26 initial customers and in the afternoon he put a suit and tie on to sell recycling programs. It wasn't... long before Kristjan realized he was a terrible truck driver, but not a bad sales person. By the end of 1992 we were servicing 350 business. Phoenix Recycling had grown to 3 people and had purchased an old Hino truck. Small businesses that did not fit in most recycling programs at that time found a home with Phoenix Recycling. "We pioneered sustainable recycling programs," says Kristjan Backman, "Not just in Manitoba but in North America. Phoenix Recycling made it easy and economical for small business and schools to recycle. A commitment to customer service, and a fresh look at recycling proved successful for Phoenix Recycling as larger customers started calling on us to provide services. In October of 1994 one of those large customers asked us to go into the waste removal business. "They had been unable to negotiate a reasonable deal for their waste services with their current supplier," notes Kristjan. "We had no experience with waste removal but we had lots of experience with customer service. That experience proved all that was necessary as Phoenix Recycling's waste removal service has been a remarkable success. 1994 also marked the year that Phoenix Recycling grew in to what is now our current home. This facility with over 13,000 square feet of warehouse gave us some much needed capacity. Municipalities around Manitoba had stared to catch the recycling bug. Our increase in capacity allowed us to accept and process material from these municipalities. The end of 1995 also brought the collapse in recycling markets, cardboard prices dropped from $360 per metric ton to $55 in 5 months. Phoenix Recycling's sustainable recycling programs insured that we could ...Read More