Editor’s note: This commentary is by John W. Casella, who is chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems.
As we all continue to grapple with the new reality that Covid-19 has forced us into, we at Casella Waste Systems have been working tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of our essential service providers performing critical services to Vermonters.
Casella, as well as other waste haulers in the state, have proactively asked Gov. Phil Scott and the Legislature to grant the secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources the authority to commingle recycling and solid waste during states of emergency. It would then be up to the secretary to determine if there was merit to a request from a waste management and recycling company to do so.
Because of this request, certain organizations and individuals throughout the state have taken the opportunity to spread misinformation about our reasoning for this request as well as our position on recycling. It is unfortunate that a logical request for flexibility during a state of emergency has been interpreted into the far-flung notion that we want to trash recycling and food waste.
This assertion could not be further from the truth.
Casella was recycling years before the Universal Recycling Law was passed and established the state’s first recycling facility in 1977. We are and will continue to be a leader in this industry. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to recycling by ensuring to our customers that to the best of our ability, their material is being recycled during a state of emergency.
It is of utmost importance to us that we let our valued customers know why we are making this request as part of the measures we are taking to protect our employees, first and foremost, during this pandemic.
Right now, the secretary of the ANR does not have the authority to provide Casella or other waste hauling companies with the ability to temporarily commingle waste and recyclables, and we believe it is prudent that she be given that ability in extraordinary circumstances. All other states in which we operate afford their regulatory oversight body this authority. That is the sole reason that we have requested the Vermont State Legislature consider providing the secretary of the ANR with the authority to provide a waiver that allows us and other haulers to commingle waste and recyclables temporarily during a state of emergency.
There are a variety of scenarios in Vermont that would warrant Casella apply for this waiver, but two potential situations are:
Should either of the two recycling facilities we operate in the state face an outbreak of Covid-19 it may necessitate having to close the facility until such a time as we have performed an intensive cleaning and disinfecting effort and have sufficient personnel to run the operation safely. This scenario has played out at multiple recycling facilities nationwide already.
If one of our hauling companies has an outbreak of Covid-19 and we have a shortage of drivers or helpers, we may not be able to send out the two trucks that are required to manage solid waste in one pickup, and recycling in another. In the case of a worker shortage, we may ask the secretary for the ability to send one truck and bring waste and recyclable materials to the landfill.
No one is suggesting that comingling waste and recycling and sending to the landfill become standard operating procedure. What we are suggesting is that requiring us to go through the legislative process to receive such a waiver would take too long and unnecessarily put people at risk.
Times of crisis require the agility to make quick decisions that are not afforded by the current legislative process. Anything else you have heard or read runs contrary our values and the reputation we have built over the last 40-plus years. The misinformation being presented is counterproductive to our efforts to ensure the health and safety of Vermonters everywhere, especially waste and recycling workers.
We have provided our employees with personal protective equipment to be safe at their jobs and have been carefully following the guidance of the CDC and OSHA since the beginning of the pandemic. We are incredibly hopeful that our workforce remains healthy and strong and is able to continue to keep all of our operations running to pick up Vermont’s waste and recycling and process it at our recycling facilities.
We remain firmly committed to acting responsibly by keeping our people safe and healthy while meeting the needs of our customers and the communities we serve. We hope that the Legislature will respect that sentiment and share that commitment.
