Adamant City rules led to bankruptcy, says Edmonton paper recycling firm CEO

CALGARY (Scrap Monster): The inflexibility of City administration has resulted in bankruptcy and worker layoffs, said former CEO of now bankrupt Greys Paper Recycling.

According to the lease clause, the rent payments must be made from sales revenue and that the investor capital should not be utilized for making rent payments. The management clarified that the company has been doing no sales for the time being on account of shutdown for some equipment upgrades. Rajan Ahluwalia, the founder of Greys Paper recycling stated that the City should have to be bothered on where the money is coming from.

Ahluwalia stated that he has enough money from investors to pay the rent. However, city officials are firm on the lease clause and want the rent payment to be paid from sales revenue. According to Greys Paper, it may take at least three more months before the equipment upgrades are completed. The company’s request to grant a three-month extension to pay the bill has been rejected. He expressed confidence that he along with other investors will be able to pump in money to resolve the situation. However, the city needs to become lenient on rules, so as to enable re-opening of the company, he added.

Greys was created in 2009 with the help of $9.4 million investment by the City. The company’s ‘closed-loop’ recycling process had promised to create ew, saleable paper products using post-consumer paper and cotton. It was forced to upgrade the plant following complaints that its products jammed in high-speed photocopiers.