COVID-19 Update

April 18, 2020

We’re bringing you a special episode of Beyond the Bin with John Casella talking family, COVID-19, our front line essential service providers and more. 

April 9, 2020

AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OUR VERMONT CUSTOMERS

It has come to our attention that misinformation about Casella’s position on recycling has been widely circulated by a public interest group in Vermont.

The assertions made by these organizations and individuals could not be further from the truth.

Casella was recycling years before the Universal Recycling Law was passed and established the state’s first recycling facility in 1977. We are and will continue to be a leader in this industry. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to recycling by ensuring to our customers that to the best of our ability, their material is being recycled during a state of emergency. 

It is of utmost importance to us that we let our valued customers know why we are making this request as part of the measures we are taking to protect our employees, first and foremost, during this pandemic. 

Right now, the Secretary of the ANR does not have the authority to provide Casella or other waste hauling companies with the ability to temporarily commingle waste and recyclables, and we believe it is prudent that she be given that ability in extraordinary circumstances. All other states in which we operate afford their regulatory oversight body this authority. That is the sole reason that we have requested the Vermont State Legislature consider providing the Secretary of the ANR with the authority to provide a waiver that allows us and other haulers to commingle waste and recyclables temporarily during a state of emergency.

There are a variety of scenarios in Vermont that would warrant Casella apply for this waiver, but two potential situations are:

Should either of the two recycling facilities we operate in the state face an outbreak of COVID-19 it may necessitate having to close the facility until such a time as we have performed an intensive cleaning and disinfecting effort and have sufficient personnel to run the operation safely. This scenario has played out at multiple recycling facilities nationwide already.

If one of our hauling companies has an outbreak of COVID-19 and we have a shortage of drivers or helpers, we may need to close the facility for cleaning and disinfecting over an extended period of time. In the case of a worker shortage, we may ask the Secretary for the ability to send one truck and bring waste and recyclable materials to the landfill.

No one is suggesting that comingling waste and recycling and sending to the landfill become standard operating procedure. What we are suggesting is that requiring us to go through the legislative process to receive such a waiver would take too long and unnecessarily put people at risk.

Times of crisis require the agility to make quick decisions that are not afforded by the current legislative process. Anything else you have heard or read runs contrary to our values and the reputation we have built over the last 40-plus years. The misinformation being presented is counterproductive to our efforts to ensure the health and safety of Vermonters everywhere, especially waste and recycling workers. 

We have provided our employees with personal protective equipment to be safe at their jobs and have been carefully following the guidance of the CDC and OSHA since the beginning of the pandemic. We are incredibly hopeful that our workforce remains healthy and strong and is able to continue to keep all of our operations running to pick up Vermont’s waste and recycling and process it at our recycling facilities.  

We remain firmly committed to acting responsibly by keeping our people safe and healthy while meeting the needs of our customers and the communities we serve. 

April 6, 2020

Please see a special message to our employees from John Casella.

To download the full message to employees, please use the following links: English Version | Spanish Version

March 20, 2020

As an essential service provider, Casella will continue to operate to serve its customers throughout our footprint. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidance on the essential critical infrastructure workforce - truck drivers who haul waste materials to support critical infrastructure, capabilities, functions, and services, as well as the support needed to ensure the effective removal, storage, and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste have been deemed ESSENTIAL SERVICES.

March 13, 2020

Dear Valued Casella Customers and Partners,

The Coronavirus is at the forefront of everyone’s thinking, and our highest priority during this time is to do our part to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers, and suppliers while continuing to provide service and keep our facilities running. Our company plays a vital role in the country’s health and safety infrastructure. We take our responsibility to serve the public seriously, and we are prepared to do so even in challenging times such as these.

• Serving Our Customers: With over 150 locations across the Northeast, we are the largest regional solid waste and recycling company in the region and if necessary, we will call upon additional resources to support our customers’ needs.
• Keeping Our Employees Safe: Our corporate response team has enacted a 30-day policy requesting team members to reschedule internal and external group meetings where applicable and limit any necessary meetings to less than 10 people. We are providing all of our employees with updates as released from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and keeping employees informed of best practices and company expectations. If necessary, we can offer a flexible work from home environment for our staff members in customer care, resource solutions, and critical back-office functions. We have robust IT supplies and the infrastructure in place to support Casella employees for this remote access. We have also partnered with third parties to manage overflow customer service-related call volumes, and ensure redundancy in the event our employees need extended time off.
• Business Travel: Effective immediately and until further notice, we have advised our employees to cease all non-essential business travel while still focusing on taking care of our customers. Employees who travel and hold in-person meetings as a normal course of business have been advised to make phone calls in place of in-person visits wherever possible.

Our highest priority is to keep our employees healthy and safe and our response team continues to gather supplies and make contingency plans should the situation change.  We believe our ability to be nimble and flexible with our workforce in the face of this continuing concern is part of our responsibility to continue to provide service to all of our customers.  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 800-CASELLA.

Be well.

Sincerely,

John W. Casella
Chairman & CEO