Goodwill Edmonton Impact Centre 5th Anniversary

Edmonton, AB (January 20, 2022) – In January of 2017, a new award-winning facility shaped the fabric of the Capital City Region, helping push sustainability to the minds of our community. In January of 2022, the AMAZING Edmonton Goodwill Impact Centre celebrates a milestone of FIVE YEARS of creating sustainable opportunities in the city of Edmonton.

On Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 11:30 a.m., the Goodwill Impact Centre welcomes you to see how this “first of a kind” facility in Western Canada has diverted millions of kilograms from landfills each year since its inception with unique repurposing, recycling and reusing ideas. There will also be a special announcement regarding expansion to the city of Calgary for the SUMMER of 2022!

Award-Winning Facility

In 2017, with the opening of the Impact Centre, Goodwill was able to divert over 13 million kilograms from local landfills thanks in large part to a Sustainability Action Plan. Since 2017 with an evolving plan and dedicated staff, diversion has increased to over 16 million kilograms annually. Over 90% of all materials donated to Goodwill are now being diverted, either through re-sale or recycling initiatives, putting the Impact Centre into the category of a zero-waste facility.

Through these dynamic actions, Goodwill has been recognized by the Recycling Council of Alberta (2018), The Emerald Awards (2019) and the Calgary Voluntary Organizations (2019) for being a leader in innovation for sustainability.

Goodwill @ Work

Goodwill’s mission of helping people with disabilities find and gain meaningful employment is why the organization has become a pillar in the community. Our Goodwill @ Work team is comprised entirely of people with disabilities, where they repurpose, recycle and reuse a variety of different items to create new products, thus diverting more and more from landfills every year.

This team helps organizations throughout Western Canada complete projects in the fields of assembly, manufacturing, and packaging while employing people with disabilities.

Our flagship product, the Cleaning Cloths, are made from towels and t-shirts that haven’t been able to find a second home through Goodwill’s retail stores. These items are transformed by this fantastic team into a new product that can be used in a variety of ways. Thanks to this program, every year Goodwill diverts over 14,000 kilograms of towels and t-shirts from local landfills.

Repair for GOOD

Our sustainability footprint continues to grow with our partnership with ATB Financial and the Repair for Good program.

This program is where we have the ability to repair and upcycle un-usable furniture and re-selling the item at an affordable price to our customers. Our community of partners and customers have given us tremendous support in donating supplies, referring volunteers, and buying the beautiful pieces we’ve upcycled.

Calgary Impact Centre Announcement

With the success of the last five years with the AMAZING Edmonton Impact, Goodwill is excited to bring this concept to the city of Calgary!

Slated to open in the SUMMER of 2022 in south east Calgary, this new facility with bring sustainable innovation, diverting more from landfills than ever before, while creating more employment opportunities for those with disabilities.

“Since 1963, Goodwill has become one of the largest employers of people with disabilities in Alberta, with about 30% of the workforce having a disability,” says President and CEO Dale Monaghan.

"This is a commitment to enhancing people’s lives through meaningful employment.”

The NEW Calgary Impact Centre will house our innovative repurpose, reuse and recycling programs, as well as being home to the second Goodwill outlet store in Alberta where donated goods have a second chance to be sold to consumers at discounted prices. Once a donated item passes through one of Goodwill’s retail locations and does not sell to a potential customer, the item goes to the GIC. Here the donated goods are sold in bulk and by the pound giving customers one last chance make a purchase. This reduces the number of items scheduled to go for recycling or to the landfill and becomes a thrift shoppers dream!