MILESTONES IN SUSTAINABLE
1975
Doug Casella founds Casella’s Refuse Removal and in 1976, invites his brother John to join him (Rutland, VT).
1977
The brothers build their first recycling facility, which is also the first in the State of Vermont.
1996
Casella’s public-private partnership model is established and brings modern engineering to the Clinton County, NY Landfill.
2010
Casella reduces its carbon footprint by 45%, and earns the 2012 EPA Climate Leadership Award for Excellence in GHG Management.
2011
In the roles of investor, operator, and supplier, Casella helps to establish Massachusetts’ first and second farm-based anaerobic digesters to manage source separated food waste.
2012
Casella invests in the first of five compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations and fuels Vermont’s first CNG refuse collection fleet.
An Industry Leader in Recycling Casella’s recycling programs provide the perfect example of the teamwork required for successful resource management. Households and businesses do their part by separating recyclable materials from their trash, and Casella does its part to collect, sort and process those items into high-quality raw materials for manufacturers to use in new products. Like any partnership, recycling works best when everyone is committed to playing their individual roles. We live in a closed-loop environment, where everything is connected. An innovative approach to managing today’s waste includes the realization that renewing the life cycle of the products we consume is a critical step in reducing waste. The concept of managing solid waste means giving trash new purpose and a new life. It’s about turning waste into a resource. From the company’s first recycling center in Vermont in 1977 to its current infrastructure of seven recycling facilities, Casella has been a pioneer in the recycling processing field. Today, Casella is leading the industry with investments in recycling infrastructure, research and development driving the next generation of recycling technologies and innovative recycling programs that are making recycling easier for our customers.
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PLEDGE ON PLASTIC RECYCLING Casella’s primary recycling goal is to produce high-quality materials that manufacturers want for their products. Casella officials take pride in the quality of the company’s recycled material, and to protect it, they’re willing to invest considerable time and energy. This is an essential component of building a thriving recycling industry. With concern about plastic in the environment at an all-time high, Casella is committed to help solve this monumental problem. The company pledges that all plastics collected on its residential recycling routes and processed in its Zero-Sort recycling facilities will not be shipped to locations outside of North America. Casella is dedicated to establishing new, responsible domestic partners to identify end markets and find a better use for its recycled materials. Zero-Sort recycling is a single-bin recycling service that helps transform more discarded materials into new products. By allowing residents and businesses to avoid sorting recyclable material, the process becomes easier. Participants just need to focus on filling the bin, and Casella takes care of the rest. Zero-Sort facilities handle many types of recyclables including cardboard, paper, plastic, metal and glass that is baled, remarketed and transformed into new products. Led by its Zero-Sort recycling facilities, Casella recovers more than 650,000 tons of recyclable materials.