Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (“Casella”) opened the doors of its newly renovated Willimantic, Connecticut materials recovery facility (“MRF”) with nearly 100 guests in attendance on Monday, May 19. The facility upgrade is complete with state-of-the-art equipment and the goal to drive more efficient recycling, helping Casella’s customers and communities achieve more circularity and move closer to their sustainability goals.
The event included remarks from Windham Mayor Tom DeVivo, as well as leaders from Casella and MRF technology provider, Machinex. Remarks concluded with a check presentation to the UConn Office of Sustainability, which will use the donated funds to support a graduate fellowship for a zero-waste coordinator at the University.
Prior to the upgrade, Casella’s Willimantic MRF processed approximately 60,000 tons of recyclables annually and expects now to be able to double that amount, while simultaneously improving efficiency and quality.
“As we continue to look at new ways to advance the amount of material we are able to process, we are thrilled to invest in this new technology in Connecticut,” said Casella Chairman and CEO, John W. Casella. “While we only began doing business in this state just five short years ago, this MRF, the adjacent mattress recycling facility, and our hauling operations in the market are key components to our continued success in serving our customers and communities.”
The upgrades included a new sorting system, power infrastructure, lighting, a replacement tipping floor, new pavement, and enhanced fire suppression system.
In addition to the upgraded sorting technology deployed, Casella also partnered with Eversource to enhance the facility’s electrical efficiency and minimize its energy usage.
“We are proud to partner with forward-thinking companies like Casella in achieving their energy efficiency and sustainability goals,” said Eversource Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Electric Mobility Tilak Subrahmanian. “Through our collaboration, we helped Casella improve its operations while reducing energy use and costs. This partnership demonstrates what’s possible when sustainability and operational goals align through energy efficiency solutions, creating lasting value for our customers and the communities we serve.”
The facility was previously converted to a single-stream MRF in 2008. The recent upgrades unveiled represent a nearly $20 million investment into the facility and follow more than $50 million in investments by Casella in its Resource Solutions operations over the past three years.
“The ongoing advancements of the circular economy depend on all stakeholders to do their part to make recycling more accessible, more convenient, and more efficient,” Casella said. “With these upgrades, we continue to do our part in moving more material out of the waste stream and putting it to a higher and better use.”
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, is one of the largest recyclers and most experienced fully integrated resource management companies in the Eastern United States. Founded in 1975 as a single truck collection service, Casella has grown its operations to provide solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to more than one million residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers and provides professional resource management services to over 10,000 customer locations in more than 40 states.
