Claystone Waste supports local employees

Jackie Sargent never thought she would be excited about waste management until she experienced a tour of the Claystone Waste Ltd. Regional Landfill Facility in central Alberta’s Beaver County. “When I got up to the top of the hill and saw the trucks and loaders working, I was awestruck,” says Sargent, now communications and public relations advisor. “Waste affects everybody.”

When Sargent arrived at the head office in Ryley, there was a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. The human resources manager was cooking lunch for the staff meeting later in the day. “That says a lot about the culture of the organization,” says Sargent. “We put a premium on get-togethers, often with a barbecue, a food truck or a holiday event in a local venue.”

Claystone is a waste management and landfill corporation with a 30-year history servicing residential communities and corporations. It became a municipally controlled corporation in 2020.

“We’re one of the largest employers in the county,” says Jeanie DeGrande, human resources and payroll manager. “As part of the community, we do things a little differently to benefit our rural employees.”

The company does this in a number of ways. DeGrande has created personalized shifts tailored to landfill equipment operators, farmers and others who want to work three days at Claystone and then get back to other work. “Our operators do 40 hours over a three-day period,” she says. “We had to get a labour standards variance to be able to do it.”

Administrative employees have a hybrid work environment where they work three or four days in the office and one or two from home.

Another way Claystone stands out is through benefits. “We cover 100 per cent of health and dental for employees and their families,” says DeGrande. And beyond insurable benefits, the company provides $500 per year for wellness pursuits, from a gym membership to fees for a child’s skating lessons.

The company is growing and has recently opened the Claystone Waste West Edmonton Transfer Station. “We offer local jobs where people can come home at night, rather than commuting a long distance or living in a camp for work, and now that includes another location,” says DeGrande.

A local job where she could work on site was a selling point for Sargent. And as a mature professional, she wanted a position where she could be strategic as well as operational. “I told the CEO not to be afraid to give me work and he has handed me the reins,” says Sargent. “I feel empowered to do my best work.”

Sargent met the Claystone management team at a staff meeting her first day on the job. She was encouraged to book a meeting with each member of the team. After two weeks, she didn’t feel like the new person any more.

It is important to Sargent that she works for a company that operates ethically using best practices. And the management has included her in strategic planning around growth and sustainability.

Claystone recently opened an advanced aerated composting facility to serve commercial and residential partners in central Alberta. It offers ethical, environmental and economical organic waste diversion. The compost is an excellent soil amendment for farmers and ranchers, as well as for construction and landscaping projects.

“Claystone intends to remain relevant through innovation,” says DeGrande. “Employees are proud that we’re taking things out of the waste stream and doing something good with it.”

“I find Claystone is supportive of the community, employees and me as a person,” says Sargent.

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Alberta’s Top Employers winners, published January 28, 2025 in the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.