Date: January 22, 2008
Source: Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. to Equip 800 Vehicles With On-Board Oil Refining System in Aim to Reduce Company's Oil Consumption and Maintenance Costs
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company, today announced that it is planning to install an on-board oil refining technology on over 800 of its vehicles that is expected to significantly extend the interval between oil changes and filter replacements. The Company estimates the move will reduce its usage of oil lubricants by 28% per year, and is part of the company's efforts to reduce its overall environmental impact.
"Every day, we are obligated to look at every aspect of the way we operate our business to find ways to more efficiently use and sustain our resources," John W. Casella, chairman and chief executive officer of Casella Waste Systems, said. "Simple as it may seem, reducing or eliminating the need for frequent oil changes in our fleet plays an important role in reducing our environmental impact as well as our use of and dependence on refined petroleum products. Beyond even those benefits, we're pleased that it also allows us to realize an economic savings in reduced oil and maintenance costs."
Eliminating a large portion of the company's lubricant usage will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 21 metric tons of CO2 equivalents annually by avoiding the manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of oil lubricants and oil filters.
The company said that the program will be implemented through an agreement with Oil Purification Systems, Inc. (OPS) to outfit nearly 800 trucks in its fleet with the environmentally sustainable OPS-1™ on-board oil refining system, thereby reducing its usage of oil lubricants by 45,000 gallons per year.
As part of Casella's cost reduction programs, the company expects that installing the OPS-1 on-board oil refining system will significantly extend the time between oil changes for its fleet, reducing oil and maintenance costs by roughly $600 per year for each vehicle or $500,000 annually for the full program. Casella expects to have the OPS-1 system installed on all selected vehicles by May 2008.
Over the past 8 months Casella conducted testing of the OPS-1 system with multiple units installed on trucks in Rutland, VT and Auburn, NY. Instead of conducting a normal oil change after 300 hours of engine use, Casella analyzed an oil sample once a month to measure 27 different attributes, including various wear metals, viscosity and pH. After each analysis, all levels were found to be within the normal range for each evaluation vehicle. After approximately 3,400 total hours for all vehicles, the evaluation units were still running without needing an oil drain.
About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems is an integrated solid waste and resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. In addition to providing traditional solid waste collection, transfer and disposal services, in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2007, the company renewed the life-cycle of over 3.8 billion pounds of recyclable material (the equivalent of a line of fully loaded garbage trucks stretching from New York City to Omaha, Nebraska) and produced over 91,500 MWh of clean, renewable energy from landfill gas-to-energy facilities (enough energy to power a community of 33,000 people each year). It is the only solid waste services company participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders program to reduce greenhouse gases. For further information, investors should contact Ned Coletta, director of investor relations at (802) 772-2239; media should contact Joseph Fusco, vice president at (802) 772-2247; or visit the company's website at www.casella.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such by the context of the statements, including words such as the Company "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "may," "will," "would," "intends," "estimates" 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 we operate and management's beliefs and assumptions. We cannot guarantee that we actually will achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements made. Such forward-looking statements, and all phases of our 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 our forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include or relate to, among other things: actual results of and saving from our oil refining system may be less substantial than we are currently estimating; we may be unable to reduce costs sufficiently to achieve estimated EBITDA and other targets; anticipated revenue may not materialize; landfill operations and permit status may be affected by factors outside our control, continuing weakness in general economic conditions and poor weather conditions may affect our revenues; we may be required to incur capital expenditures in excess of our estimates; and fluctuations in the commodity pricing of our recyclables may make it more difficult for us to predict our results of operations or meet our estimates. There are a number of other important risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those detailed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2007. We do not necessarily intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Ned Coletta
Director of Investor Relations
(802) 772-2239
Joseph Fusco
Vice President
(802) 772-2247
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