SEEDtm
Sustainable environmental and economic development (SEEDtm)—it’s how we at Casella are shaping today’s waste management for tomorrow.
We’re taking a new look at the waste stream; reshaping the traditional role of a landfill—from a place where things go when we’re done with them—into a basis for building renewable energy sources that revitalize local economies.
And it’s happening right now.
We’re converting landfill methane gas into electricity. When all of our sites are recovering methane gas for energy, we’ll be producing as much as 35 megawatts per year—equal to electricity for 25,000 homes and businesses with an annual environmental benefit that will result in removed emissions equal to 269,720 cars, buses, vans and trucks.
We’re working on capturing the heat from landfill generators to feed huge greenhouses that grow tomatoes—and reduce our greenhouse gas footprint. These hydroponic gardens aren’t just for show—they create jobs as well as stimulate economic activity and agricultural research.
We’re implementing single-stream recycling and advanced sorting technologies, making it easier, safer and more economical for everyone to recycle…and diverting tons of reusable materials from the landfill.
With cutting edge recycling technology we’re working on turning mountains of mixed glass into usable brown bottles—saving more space in our landfills. Since entering the recycling business over 25 years ago, the Company's network of Material Recovery Facilities (MRF's) and glass processing facilities have already recovered over 2 million tons of glass and prevented some 30 million bottles from reaching the landfill. We're just getting started...Culchrome® technology, once commercialized, has the potential to recover even more.
We see these activities as leaving a positive, lasting impression benefiting our communities. Saving oil, keeping unnecessary waste out of our landfills, creating jobs, and helping conserve and protect our natural resources—all within the framework of waste regulatory requirements-creates value for our customers and the communities we serve.
