Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Announces Settlement of Southbridge Litigation

RUTLAND, Vt., Dec. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced that on November 8, 2018, the company and the Town of Southbridge, MA (the “Town”) reached a settlement to resolve claims that were the subject of litigation filed in Worcester Superior Court.  

Under the terms of the settlement, the company and the Town agreed to advance the date through which the company is obligated to provide free curbside collection and disposal of the Town’s residential waste from May 28, 2027 to March 31, 2024.  The settlement also permits the company to close the waste transfer station located in the Town at the end of 2018.  

“The settlement of this litigation is one of the last important steps to successfully resolve outstanding matters at the Southbridge landfill and permanently close the site,” said John W. Casella, Chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems, Inc.  “We adopted a plan in July 2017 to close the landfill due to the lack of local community support, insurmountable political and regulatory hurdles, and the extremely high cost to develop airspace at the site.  Given these factors, we concluded that we could not generate an adequate risk adjusted return, and we initiated the plan to wind down operations at the site and permanently close the landfill.”

Following the settlement with the Town, the company expects to take a charge in the range of approximately $8.0 million to $9.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 for the free waste collection and disposal services the company is obligated to provide to the Town through March 31, 2024, and other remaining cash payment obligations to the Town that will continue until May 28, 2027.

About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services in the northeastern United States.  For further information, investors should contact Ned Coletta, chief financial officer at (802) 772-2239, and media should contact Joseph Fusco, vice president, at (802) 772-2247, or visit the company’s website at .

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such by the context of the statements, including words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “may,” “would,” “intend,” “estimate,” "will," “guidance” and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or affirmative. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which the Company operates and management’s beliefs and assumptions. The Company cannot guarantee that it actually will achieve the plans, intentions, expectations or guidance disclosed in the forward-looking statements made. Such forward-looking statements, and all phases of the Company’s operations, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, any one or more of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in its forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include or relate the amount of the charge associated with the settlement of litigation with the Town could exceed estimates. There are a number of other important risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These additional risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those detailed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and in other filings that the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.