A voluntary partnership between the City of Vancouver and the demolition industry that turns recoverable demolition materials into paid transitional employment for people rebuilding their lives. Get Clean, Get Hired.
Demolition contractors keep working exactly as they do today — they just place recoverable metals into a City-provided Recovery Works bin instead of a regular one. The City transports that material to a new Municipal Materials Recovery Centre at the existing City operations yard across from 960 Evans Avenue, where people rebuilding their lives sort, clean, weigh, and recycle it — for real pay, with real bonuses, real training, and a real shot at a permanent job. This is economic development, workforce development, and recycling policy. It is not charity.
Recovery Works is an economic development, workforce, and recycling policy — not charity. Nobody gets paid for showing up and doing nothing. Participants earn wages for verified, measurable work: sorting, cleaning, weighing, and recovering real material that has real value. Every dollar paid is tied to real productivity.
Get Clean, Get Hired. A path off the street runs through a paycheque, a schedule, a skill, and a reference — not a handout.
Photo of an active Vancouver demolition site — excavator, truck, and recoverable scrap metal — to be added here.
A voluntary partnership between the City and the demolition industry — recoverable material moves from job site to Materials Recovery Centre without adding cost or hassle for contractors.
Participating contractors keep doing their job exactly as they do today. The only change: recoverable metals and materials go into a City-provided Recovery Works bin instead of a regular disposal bin.
The City transports the material to a new Municipal Materials Recovery Centre at the existing City operations yard across from 960 Evans Avenue — no extra hauling cost or logistics burden placed on the contractor.
At the Materials Recovery Centre, Recovery Works participants sort, clean, and weigh recovered material for recycling — under paid supervision, with proper PPE, tools, first aid, and safety training provided by the City.
Participants are paid for measurable productivity — verified recovered material — with the chance to earn more through bonuses, and to leave the program with real job skills and a real reference.
The City handles transportation, processing, supervision, workforce management, PPE, tools, first aid, and safety training — start to finish. Make Great Things Happen.
Pay is tied to measurable productivity — verified recovered material — plus real incentives to build the habits that carry into any job.
A guaranteed floor for showing up and doing the work — sorting, cleaning, and weighing recovered material.
Additional pay tied to verified recovered material — the more real, usable material a crew recovers, the more the crew earns.
Extra pay for consistent, reliable attendance — rewarding the habit-building that makes someone hireable elsewhere.
Payouts at set milestones — 30, 60, and 100 consecutive days — recognizing sustained progress, not just a single good day.
Recognized safety and materials-handling certifications participants can put on a resume and carry into a permanent job.
The City cannot force a company to hand over scrap — so participation has to be earned through real, voluntary incentives.
Exact figures require local quotes and vary by site — this is a cautious, honest starting picture, not a promise of guaranteed margins.
Note: figures above are directional, not promises. Real numbers will depend on local scrap pricing, hauling quotes, and site conditions, and will be refined with industry input before launch.
Recovery Works will publish real numbers, on a real schedule — no vague claims, no press-release-only wins.