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 More2024 Sustainability Leadership Award Winners
City Of Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine, is a city with a strong commitment to recycling education and measures to reduce contamination in the recycling stream. They work with us to educate community members through local events, curbside tagging, and regular audits. The city recycling committee meets monthly to review results and discuss new initiatives. Between spring 2022 and fall 2023, the city reduced contamination by as much as 26%, proving the effectiveness and impact of their hard work and commitment to recycling.
Phillips Academy Andover
Phillips Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts, a college preparatory school for more than 1,100 boarding and day students in grades 9-12, has been a Casella customer and partner for 10 years. Their Climate Action Plan includes a goal to achieve 90% waste diversion by the year 2030. Casella and Phillips Academy have expanded programs on campus to capture compost, e-waste, universal waste, metal, and wood. Together we have run Green Move-Out programs for several years, successfully redirecting reusable items to Goodwill.
Novolex
Novolex develops and manufactures diverse packaging products for multiple industries in the foodservice, delivery and carryout, food processor and industrial markets that touch nearly every aspect of daily life. Last year, Casella worked with Novolex to recycle nearly 60,000 tons of post-industrial commodities. At these locations, we have collaborated on employee training initiatives and installing onsite processing equipment to increase recycling tonnage. Novolex reports sourcing 47% of its raw materials from renewable, bio-based or PCR sources in 2023, has invested in clear easy-to-understand product recyclability labeling, and reported 84% of its applicable revenues in 2023 came from products that support a circular economy.