Casella Announces Southbridge, Mass., Litigation Settlement

Casella Waste Systems, a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced that on November 8, the company and the town of Southbridge, Mass., 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, in a statement. “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.”

Related:Southbridge, Mass., Expects Casella to Continue Curbside Pickup Until 2027

Following the settlement with the town, the company stated it expects to take a charge in the range of approximately $8 million to $9 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.