Sustainability Innovation
We innovate to meet our customers’ evolving waste reduction and recycling needs and advance the emerging circular economy.
Our Circular Economy Vision
We work to transform one customer’s outputs into another customer’s inputs, striving to improve both customers’ impacts, while creating the connections that add up to a circular economy. We create these connections through integrated services, expertise, and unique partnerships. Above all, we help customers meet their goals through our unwavering commitment to service, sustainability, and our Core Values.
Sustainability Innovation At Work
Our industry is rapidly evolving and we are proud to play a role in driving this change. Here are some of the innovation efforts underway today.
- Routing And Fleet Technology – Conserving fuel cuts both costs and emissions. Using onboard computers and route efficiency programs, we minimize the number of trucks and the amount of fuel required to manage your waste and recycling.
- Drones At Landfills – Our landfills deploy drone-based methane detectors as a diagnostic tool to identify areas in need of tuning or maintenance. By adopting this new technology, we are able to capture more gas, which keeps it out of the atmosphere and recovers it for renewable energy production.
- Robotics At MRFs – Robotics and artificial intelligence hold exciting potential for many industries, and recycling is no exception. Visitors to our most recently upgraded recycling facilities will see robotic sorters strategically deployed to accommodate an evolving recycling stream while helping to meet market demand for quality recycled commodities.
- Customer Dashboards – You manage what you measure. Our custom reporting and interactive dashboards are helping customers across the country manage their programs, minimize their waste, and make measurable progress toward their ambitious waste and recycling goals.
- Mattress Recycling – We have invested in the innovation and infrastructure to enable mattress recycling in our region. Our facilities provide mattress and box spring recycling solutions for municipalities, colleges, hotels, retailers, and individuals. We process more than 200,000 units per year and capture an estimated 4,000 tons of wood, metal, and foam for recycling.
2024 Sustainability Report
1.4M+ Tons
Recycled per year
32% Reduction
In carbon emissions
14,000 Hours
Employee volunteering
Sustainability Leadership Award Winners
Our Sustainability Leadership Awards recognize customers and partners who best exemplify what we can achieve when we work together to reduce waste, increase recycling, and advance the circular economy.
Each year, winners are selected from an inspiring slate of nominees that includes municipalities, higher education, healthcare, businesses, manufacturing, and more. By highlighting the accomplishments of these partners through this recognition we hope to provide inspiration and examples for others to follow.
Learn More2025 Sustainability Leadership Award Winners
Primo Brands
Primo Brands, a leading North American branded beverage company focused on healthy hydration, has integrated circular economy principles into its core strategy by designing products that reduce waste and extend life cycles. In partnership with Casella across Maine, New York, and Massachusetts, Primo has achieved a 90% recycling rate for fiber, metal, and plastic. At Primo Brands’ Somerset, NJ site, Casella helped dismantle 776 tons of decommissioned coolers, recycling 82% of the material and generating revenue.
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College, a private liberal arts college in Hanover, New Hampshire, has partnered with Casella to tackle diverse material recovery challenges on campus, from food waste to tires and e-waste. Most recently, Casella sponsored a student-led Campus Waste Diversion Project, empowering students to divert textiles from landfill and distribute them through a volunteer-run campus Thrift Store serving the college and local community.
The Arc Otsego
The University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Center, a leading hospital in Burlington, Vermont, has partnered with Casella to implement wide-ranging waste reduction initiatives across its campus. Its nationally recognized operating room recycling program has diverted over 100 tons of surgical wrap, while staff-driven efforts composted 165 tons of food waste last year with careful attention to sorting and quality.