Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems (Nasdaq: CWST) is a waste management company based in Rutland, Vermont, USA. Since being formed in 1978 by brothers John and Douglas Casella, the company has grown to cover 34 states.

Casella owns or operates 13 landfills, 38 solid waste collection businesses, 32 waste transfer stations, and 38 recycling facilities. Casella also operates a joint venture with Louisiana-Pacific that produces cellulose insulation.

Casella Waste Systems has 2,800 employees. Total revenues in 2007 were $547 million, on which the company made a net loss of $18 million.

References

• Hoover's profile (seach for Casella, access by subscription)

The Future of our Industry We believe that our industrialized society is moving away from resource “consumption” towards “conservation, contribution and sustainability” as an approach to natural and economic resource management.

We live in a resource constrained world. As population continues to grow and economic prosperity spreads, increased global consumption is resulting in resource constraints that are impacting consumers, businesses, and governments across the globe. The signs are all around us; (1) expensive oil, (2) rising global temperatures, (3) diminishing raw material supplies and (4) increasing commodity prices.

As a result, we also believe that the world will demand, and reward, very different skills and capabilities from our industry in the next few decades. Our industry can no longer purely rely on a business model that depends on its customers consuming, and then disposing of, limited resources and materials. It is simply not sustainable. Waste is a resource for producing renewable energy and a raw material for manufacturing new products. We see “waste management” transitioning towards “resource management.”

Already, many of our customers are starting to view their waste streams much like their supply chains: anywhere there is waste, there is increased cost and reduced efficiency. We are beginning to build resource management programs that will help companies reduce costs while building their business reputation through implementation of environmentally and socially-sound programs to reduce waste, increase the recyclability of their products, increase facility recycling, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.