YORK1 is a forward-thinking and innovative environmental company with a fully integrated infrastructure division. This impressive team delivers environmental services focused on non-hazardous solid waste management, asset recovery, soil remediation, beneficial reuse, and liquid waste solutions—all while ensuring strict compliance with safety and environmental regulations. At the same time, its infrastructure offerings include civil and site services, demolition and abatement, excavation, shoring and foundations, and telecom and utilities.
“We’re proud to play a crucial role in minimizing the environmental impact on construction activities,” says President and CEO Brian Brunetti. “We differentiate ourselves as a company that not only provides effective waste management solutions, but also one that is committed to a greener future.”
In business since 1950, the Ontario-based company has diverted more than 3.85 million tons from landfills throughout Canada for both the public and private sectors.
The company is known for making waves in the industry. “YORK1 has never been a company to fit in,” says Brunetti. “It is a company that was established to stand out. We hold true to how the company started, through traditional family values while emphasizing forward thinking and innovation in our operations. As such, we have significantly invested in advanced waste management systems such as sorting and recycling technologies to optimize our processes and minimize environmental impact through waste diversion. So this commitment to innovation allows us to stay ahead of the competition by providing cutting-edge solutions to our clients.”
YORK1 has multiple divisions staffed with industry experts ready to think outside of the box. “Our teams are up for any challenge,” Brunetti says. “We love partnering with clients to find solutions to what was thought might be the impossible.”
These divisions work together to offer a complete solution, “allow[ing] us to provide a comprehensive range of services to our clients,” Brunetti says. “We like to think of ourselves as offering a one-for-all approach and we offer our clients a single trusted partner who can take care of multiple interconnected services and ensure that every aspect of the project is executed smoothly, safely, and efficiently.”
This smooth delivery can be seen throughout every stage of construction. “YORK1 really tries to simplify the construction projects by handling everything from pre-construction and more throughout our full suite of integrated divisions,” Brunetti says. “Instead of our clients engaging with multiple partners and companies, at YORK1 our clients can leverage one company for solid and liquid waste management, pre-construction infrastructure, and telecom. So we take charge managing and executing on tasks, from demolition and land clearing through to shoring and foundations installation. This coordinated effort ensures seamless execution for our clients.”
From comprehensive environmental services to a complete range of infrastructure services, the company’s multi-solution approach cuts out complications and headaches for the client at every stage. “By integrating all of these divisions at YORK1, we ensure that our clients receive a comprehensive solution that not only facilitates a seamless and efficient project for all of them, but also provides peace of mind through exceptional performance for our clients,” Brunetti summarizes.
YORK1 relies on a strong and supportive company culture to deliver its extensive services and positively impact the industry. “Company culture at YORK1 is really characterized by a strong commitment to excellence, innovation, and collaboration,” he says. “We try to foster an environment that encourages employees to strive for continuous improvement and really push the boundaries of what is possible. We value diversity, curiosity, and authenticity and we see ourselves to be mission-driven, customer-centric, and agile, but we also work hard to be diverse, inclusive, and empowering for our employees.”
This approach is mutually beneficial for both the customer and the employee. “By promoting a customer-centric approach where client satisfaction is really our top priority, employees are encouraged to understand client needs, provide innovative solutions, and deliver peace of mind performance. So the one-for-all approach fosters a strong sense of teamwork among our employees and really across all of our divisions. And this collaboration extends not only within our divisions, but also across different departments in our company, really enabling seamless communication and knowledge sharing, creating a supportive work environment where employees can learn from each other, tackle challenges collectively, and ultimately contribute to the company’s overall success,” Brunetti says.
“YORK1 continues to grow at an incredible rate and to meet these expanding needs of the business. It’s just extremely important,” he says. “Culture is so important.”
With this in mind, the company works hard to recruit and retain its talented workforce. “In the past two years, we’ve seen a great influx through both organic growth and acquisition of top talent into our business that has really propelled us forward as we continue to strive for excellence. Our employees are our number one asset. Their journey starts with us on day one, but it’s really our job and our mission to make sure that their careers evolve within YORK1. It’s a place where they can hang their hat for a really long time.”
Buoyed by such a strong and supportive culture, YORK1 has successfully executed a large number of noteworthy projects. One recent example is the early works project at the Exhibition Station section of the Metrolinx initiative in Toronto, Ontario. “This is a massive undertaking that will see the construction of a 15.6 km subway line with 15 brand new stations,” Brunetti explains. “This project really highlighted YORK1’s ability to provide multiple services for a single client. During the early works phase of the project, YORK1 took on a range of responsibilities including excavation, remediation, backfill, demolition, retaining wall installation, utility installation, hydrovac services, and waste and recycling management. So at YORK1, we’re really proud to be part of this initiative in bringing this critical infrastructure to the City of Toronto. This project will make the city more accessible and mobile than ever before, so we’re really proud of our coordinated efforts on this project.”
The team is eager to continue to stay at the forefront of the industry well into the future. “YORK1 has a lot of ambitious plans and goals,” Brunetti shares. “We aim to expand our operations geographically, to reach more clients, and contribute to responsible waste management and infrastructure development on an even larger scale than we’re doing today. We will continue investing in research and development to stay at the forefront of our industry and industry advancements, and this includes exploring emerging technologies and innovative waste management solutions that align with our commitment to sustainability and our environmental initiatives,” he says.
“Furthermore, we seek to strengthen our partnerships and collaborations with other organizations, including government agencies, environmental groups, others in the industry, and various technology providers. By leveraging these partnerships, we aim to enhance our service offerings, explore new markets, and really effect more positive change within the industry. Overall, we’re committed to driving innovation, delivering sustainable solutions, and maintaining a strong focus on client satisfaction,” summarizes Brunetti.
“Through these efforts, we envision a future where we continue to be recognized as a global leader in integrated waste management and infrastructure solutions. We’re excited for what’s ahead of us.”
