Dive Brief:

• Toronto-based GFL Environmental Inc., which now owns Rizzo Environmental Services, has started to roll out dozens of lime green collection trucks with GFL logos around metro Detroit to replace Rizzo's well-known red trucks, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
• The efforts to phase out the Rizzo company name come from a recent FBI corruption probe in Macomb County, MI which is centered around Rizzo. Politicians were accused of taking bribes from Rizzo for help in winning local contracts and, as the case surfaced, Rizzo's founder Chuck Rizzo Jr. resigned from the company.
• GFL CEO Patrick Dovigi noted that GFL likely would not have purchased Rizzo if it knew about the criminal allegations beforehand, as reported by the Free Press. However, the company is now trying to move forward and spread its positive message of "Greener For Life" (GFL) to the Detroit community. 

Dive Insight:

Many obstacles can arise when a company makes a significant acquisition like GFL's acquisition of Rizzo, however it is hard to unveil all of the dirty details of a company's past before the purchase is made. While GFL was blindsided by the news of Rizzo's corruption case, it is working through the problem by moving quickly and making efforts to maintain the trust of current customers. 

Rizzo also made waves in Flint, MI recently as it went head-to-head with Republic Services to lock in a collections contract with the city. After four months of heated debate among city council members and Mayor Karen Weaver, Republic came out victorious with an approved one-year collection contract, marking another loss for Rizzo.

While some municipalities that currently work with Rizzo have considered switching haulers, GFL's dedication to holding its head high in the limelight of Rizzo's charges will likely put the company in a good position to keep most customer contracts.