Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2007 Results; Provides Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance

Casella provides integrated solid waste, recycling, and resource management services in the eastern United States.

Breadcrumb

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2007 Results; Provides Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance

June 18, 2007

RUTLAND, Vt., Jun 18, 2007 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CWST), a regional, non-hazardous solid waste services company, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and its 2007 fiscal year, and gave guidance on its expected performance for its 2008 fiscal year.

Fourth Quarter Results

For the quarter ended April 30, 2007, the company reported revenues of $130.3 million, up $6.1 million or 4.9 percent over the same quarter last year. The company's net loss per common share was ($0.80), versus earnings per share of $0.07 in the same quarter last year. The net loss per share reflects the following non-recurring charges: an impairment charge of $26.9 million for the closure of the Hardwick landfill, development project charges of $0.8 million for the write-off of abandoned landfill and composting acquisitions, loss on the sale of Holliston, MA transfer station amounting to $0.7 million, bad debt of $0.5 million, and $0.4 million of severance costs for the Massachusetts' market-area restructuring. Excluding these non-recurring charges, the net loss for the quarter amounted to ($1.8) million or ($0.07) per common share.

Operating loss for the quarter was ($19.9) million, reflecting the impact of the non-recurring charges noted above, versus operating income of $10.2 million in the fourth quarter last year. Cash provided by operating activities in the quarter was $25.7 million. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Hardwick impairment and closing charge, and development project charges (EBITDA*) were $25.2 million, unchanged from the same quarter last year.

Revenue growth for the quarter ended April 30, 2007 compared to the quarter ended April 30, 2006 was 4.9%. Revenues declined by 2.4% year over year in solid waste operations, while FCR had year over year revenue growth of 25.1%. Pricing was up 2.9% in the solid waste operations, while volumes declined 5.8% year over year. The 5.8% volume decline in solid waste operations was driven by a 5.1% reduction in lower margin hauling and transfer volumes and a 0.4% decline due to the closure of the Hardwick landfill. Over 60% of the 5.1% loss of hauling and transfer volumes is associated with the strategic realignment of assets in the South Eastern Region away from construction & demolition (C&D) business to higher margin municipal solid waste (MSW) business centered around the Southbridge landfill. Despite lower hauling and transfer volumes, solid waste gross margins were improved by keeping operating costs down.

Fiscal 2007 Results

For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2007, the company reported revenues of $547.0 million, up $31.8 million or 6.2 percent over fiscal year 2006. The fiscal year net loss per common share was ($0.85) versus earnings per share of $0.30 in the previous fiscal year. Excluding the non-recurring charges from the fourth quarter, fiscal year 2007 net loss amounted to ($3.0) million or ($0.12) per common share.

Operating income for the year was $12.2 million, reflecting the impact of the non-recurring charges noted above, versus $42.6 million for fiscal year 2006. The company's EBITDA* for the twelve-month period were $111.6 million versus $108.4 million for fiscal year 2006.

The company also announced that cash provided by operating activities for fiscal year 2007 was $81.5 million, and that the company's free cash flow* for fiscal year 2007 was ($20.0) million; as of April 30, 2007, the company had cash on hand of $12.4 million, and had an outstanding total debt level of $477.4 million.

"This past fiscal year was challenging. We faced a weakening economy in the Northeast and the broad impacts from the construction slowdown," John W. Casella, chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems, said. "Our people responded well in this difficult environment and the business remained stable because of our strong focus on profitable revenue growth, cost reductions, and operational improvements."

"Despite the economic slowdown, our pricing discipline remained strong," Casella said. "We have invested significant capital in developing landfill capacity during the past four years and we continue to be focused on generating appropriate returns on this investment."

"The regional economy is stronger to date this spring. We experienced a healthy seasonal increase in business during May, which we did not see in the first quarter last year," Casella said. "Our roll-off pulls increased 7.7% over last May and C&D landfill volumes are up."

More detailed financial results are contained in the tables accompanying this release.

2007 Highlights

"During fiscal year 2007, we made great progress on our long-term landfill development growth initiative," Casella said. "In light of this progress, we began to shift our business focus during the fourth quarter towards cost reductions and profitable revenue growth all aimed to improve shareholder returns and repay debt. The restructuring of operations in the Massachusetts and Maine markets to a market-area management structure is an example of our focus on improving customer service and our business model."

"Highlights of the fiscal year include:



 * "the company executed an amended contract with the Town of
   Southbridge, Massachusetts on May 29th that allows the company to
   seek approvals to convert the company's landfill from C&D residuals
   to MSW and to increase the annual tonnage to 405,000 tons per year
   of MSW from the current permitted level of 180,960 tons per year of
   C&D;
 * "the company was issued a new permit at the Hyland MSW landfill in
   New York to increase the annual tonnage by 76,500 tons and to add
   6.3 million tons to the site airspace; in addition, the company was
   issued a permit to increase the airspace at the Hake's C&D landfill
   in New York by 3.7 million tons;
 * "total company-wide permitted and permittable disposal capacity is
   now at 94.1 million tons, up from 29.6 million tons at the end of
   fiscal 2003;
 * "our internalization rate rose 170 basis points to 58.3 percent for
   the fiscal year;
 * "we acquired 13 solid waste collection and recycling companies in
   fiscal 2007; and
 * "on April 30, 2007, we completed the sale of the assets of the
   Holliston transfer station for cash sale proceeds of $7.4 million;
   this sale is part of the plan announced during the fourth quarter
   of fiscal year 2007 to divest, swap, or close underperforming non-
   strategic operations amounting to $22.0 million of annual
   revenues."

Fiscal 2008 Outlook

The company also announced its guidance for its fiscal year 2008, which began May 1, 2007.

For the fiscal year 2008, the company estimates results in the following ranges:



 * Revenues between $560.0 million and $580.0 million;
 * EBITDA* between $114.0 million and $118.0 million;
 * Capital expenditures between $72.0 million and $76.0 million; and
 * Free cash flow* between $(2.0) million and $6.0 million.

The company said the following assumptions are built into its fiscal year 2008 outlook:



 * Zero-growth in the regional economy;
 * In the solid waste business, price growth of 3.0 percent, with
   overall volumes slightly down;
 * In the recycling business, positive price growth, with flat
   volumes;
 * Minor modification to Chemung County landfill permit in fourth
   quarter, increasing annual permitted MSW by 60,000 tons per year;
 * Focus on reducing costs through the following initiatives: market-
   area consolidations, productivity enhancements, maintenance
   standardization, and procurement rationalization; and
 * No major acquisitions.

Free cash flow of $(2.0) million to $6.0 million is based on cash provided by operating activities of $68.0 million to $72.0 million, less estimated maintenance capital expenditures of $60.0 million, growth capital expenditures of $12.0 to $16.0 million, and other balance sheet changes.

Casella Waste Systems, headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services primarily in the eastern United States.

For further information, contact Richard Norris, chief financial officer; Ned Coletta, director of investor relations; or Joseph Fusco, vice president; at (802) 775-0325, or visit the company's website at http://www.casella.com.

The company will host a conference call to discuss these results on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Interested investors can participate by dialing (913) 312-6669 at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the conference call. The call will also be webcast; to listen, participants should visit Casella Waste Systems' website at http://www.casella.com and follow the appropriate link to the webcast. A replay of the call will be available on the company's website, or by calling 719-457-0820 or 888-203-1112 (conference code #5445121), until 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 26, 2007.

*Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to disclosing financial results prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), we also disclose free cash flow and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Hardwick impairment and closing charge, and development project charges (EBITDA), which are non-GAAP measures.

These measures are provided because we understand that certain investors use this information when analyzing the financial position of the solid waste industry, including us. Historically, these measures have been key in comparing operating efficiency of publicly traded companies in the solid waste industry, and assist investors in measuring our ability to meet capital expenditure and working capital requirements. For these reasons we utilize these non- GAAP metrics to measure our performance at all levels. These measures do not represent, and should not be considered as alternatives to cash provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, these measures do not necessarily indicate whether cash flow will be sufficient for such items as working capital or capital expenditures, or to react to changes in our industry or to the economy generally. Because these measures are not calculated by all companies in the same fashion, they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

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," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe the Company's future plans, financial guidance, objectives or goals are forward-looking statements. 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: we may be unable to make acquisitions and otherwise develop additional disposal capacity; continuing weakness in general economic conditions may affect our revenues; we may be required to incur capital expenditures in excess of our estimates; waste volumes may be below expectations, and fluctuations in the commodity pricing of our recyclables may make it more difficult for us to predict our results of operations. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking statements can be found in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including risk factors in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30.



             CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                               Unaudited
               (In thousands, except amounts per share)

                             Three Months Ended    Twelve Months Ended
                             -------------------   -------------------
                                  April 30,             April 30,
                               2006       2007       2006       2007
                             --------   --------   --------   --------

 Revenues                    $124,125   $130,255   $515,172   $546,990

 Operating expenses:
  Cost of operations (a)       83,748     87,090    339,945    360,652
  General and
   administration (a)          15,194     17,973     66,880     74,730
  Depreciation and
   amortization                14,971     17,431     64,383     71,740
  Hardwick impairment and
   closing charge                  --     26,892         --     26,892
  Development project charges      --        752      1,329        752
                             --------   --------   --------   --------
                              113,913    150,138    472,537    534,766
                             --------   --------   --------   --------

 Operating income (loss)       10,212    (19,883)    42,635     12,224

 Other expense/(income), net:
  Interest expense, net         8,401     10,135     31,287     38,859
  (Income) loss from equity
   method investments            (980)       927     (5,742)    (1,051)
  Other income (a)               (216)      (221)    (1,880)      (572)
                             --------   --------   --------   --------
                                7,205     10,841     23,665     37,236
                             --------   --------   --------   --------

 Income (loss) from continuing
  operations before income
  taxes and discontinued
  operations                    3,007    (30,724)    18,970    (25,012)
 (Benefit) provision for
  income taxes                    146    (12,313)     7,306     (8,481)
                             --------   --------   --------   --------

 (Loss) income from continuing
  operations before
  discontinued operations       2,861    (18,411)    11,664    (16,531)

 Discontinued Operations:
 Loss from discontinued
  operations, net of income
  taxes (b)                      (309)      (246)      (560)      (635)
 Loss on disposal of
  discontinued operations,
  net of income taxes (b)          --       (717)        --       (717)
                             --------   --------   --------   --------

 Net (loss) income              2,552    (19,374)    11,104    (17,883)

 Preferred stock dividend         870        914      3,432      3,588
                             --------   --------   --------   --------

 Net (loss) income available
  to common stockholders     $  1,682   $(20,288)  $  7,672   $(21,471)
                             ========   ========   ========   ========

 Common stock and common
  stock equivalent shares
  outstanding, assuming full
  dilution                     25,681     25,318     25,368     25,272
                             ========   ========   ========   ========

 Net (loss) income per
  common share               $   0.07   $  (0.80)  $   0.30   $  (0.85)
                             ========   ========   ========   ========

 ------------------------    -------------------   -------------------
 EBITDA (c)                  $ 25,183   $ 25,192   $108,347   $111,608
                             ========   ========   ========   ========

             CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                               Unaudited
                            (In thousands)

                                                         April 30,
                                                      2006       2007
                                                    --------   --------
                            ASSETS

 CURRENT ASSETS:
  Cash and cash equivalents                         $  7,425   $ 12,363
  Restricted cash                                         72         73
  Accounts receivable - trade, net of allowance
   for doubtful accounts                              55,359     60,517
  Other current assets                                16,118     20,320
                                                    --------   --------

 Total current assets                                 78,974     93,273

 Property, plant and equipment, net of
  accumulated depreciation                           474,292    487,621
 Goodwill                                            171,258    173,350
 Intangible assets, net                                2,762      2,217
 Restricted cash                                      17,887     12,734
 Investments in unconsolidated entities               44,491     49,969
 Other non-current assets                             21,447     13,402
                                                    --------   --------
                                                    $811,111   $832,566
                                                    ========   ========

                   LIABILITIES AND
                 STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 CURRENT LIABILITIES:
  Current maturities of long-term debt              $    527   $  1,215
  Current maturities of capital lease obligations      1,061      1,104
  Series A redeemable, convertible preferred
   stock (d)                                              --     74,018
  Accounts payable                                    45,770     52,371
  Other accrued liabilities                           47,407     57,917
                                                    --------   --------
 Total current liabilities                            94,765    186,625

 Long-term debt, less current maturities             452,720    476,225
 Capital lease obligations, less current maturities    1,747        650
 Other long-term liabilities                          41,959     39,570

 Series A redeemable, convertible preferred stock     70,430         --

 Stockholders' equity                                149,490    129,496
                                                    --------   --------
                                                    $811,111   $832,566
                                                    ========   ========

             CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
            CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
                               Unaudited
                            (In thousands)
                                                  Twelve Months Ended
                                                 ---------------------
                                                        April 30,
                                                   2006         2007
                                                 ---------   ---------
 Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
 Net (loss) income                               $  11,104   $ (17,883)
 Loss from discontinued operations, net                560         635
 Loss on disposal of discontinued operations, net       --         717
 Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income
  to net cash provided by operating activities -
   Depreciation and amortization                    64,383      71,740
   Depletion of landfill operating lease
    obligations                                      6,284       7,021
   Hardwick impairment and closing charge               --      26,892
   Development project charges                       1,329         752
   Income from equity method investments            (5,742)     (1,051)
   Gain on sale of equipment                          (105)       (806)
   Stock-based compensation                             --         702
   Deferred income taxes                             4,984     (11,246)
   Changes in assets and liabilities, net of
    effects of acquisitions and divestitures        (7,147)      4,059
                                                 ---------   ---------
                                                    63,986      98,063
                                                 ---------   ---------
    Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities       75,650      81,532
                                                 ---------   ---------
 Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
  Acquisitions, net of cash acquired               (19,691)     (2,750)
  Additions to property, plant
   and equipment - growth                          (47,474)    (36,738)
                 - maintenance                     (65,369)    (65,435)
  Payments on landfill operating lease contracts   (10,539)     (4,995)
  Proceeds from divestitures                            --       7,383
  Restricted cash from revenue bond issuance        (5,469)      5,535
  Other                                               (508)     (1,788)
                                                 ---------   ---------
    Net Cash Used In Investing Activities         (149,050)    (98,788)
                                                 ---------   ---------
 Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
  Proceeds from long-term borrowings               208,997     267,525
  Principal payments on long-term debt            (136,411)   (244,750)
  Deferred financing costs                            (768)       (582)
  Proceeds from exercise of stock options            2,200       1,608
                                                 ---------   ---------
   Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities        74,018      23,801
                                                 ---------   ---------
 Cash Used in Discontinued Operations               (1,771)     (1,607)
                                                 ---------   ---------
 Net increase in cash and cash equivalents          (1,153)      4,938
 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period      8,578       7,425
                                                 ---------   ---------
 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period        $   7,425   $  12,363
                                                 =========   =========

             CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                               Unaudited
                            (In thousands)

 Note a: The Company has made reclassifications in the Company's
 Statements of Operations to conform prior year information with the
 Company's current period presentation.

 Note b: The company divested the assets of the Holliston Transfer
 Station ("Holliston Transfer") during the quarter ended April 30,
 2007. The transaction required discontinued operations treatment
 under SFAS No. 144, therefore the operating results of Holliston
 Transfer have been reclassified from continuing to discontinued
 operations for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2006 and 2007.

 Note c:     Non - GAAP Financial Measures

       In addition to disclosing financial results prepared in
 accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), we
 also disclose EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
 and amortization, Hardwick impairment and closing charge and
 development project charges) and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP
 measures.

       These measures are provided because we understand that certain
 investors use this information when analyzing the financial position
 of the solid waste industry, including us. Historically, these
 measures have been key in comparing operating efficiency of publicly
 traded companies within the industry, and assist investors in
 measuring our ability to meet capital expenditure and working capital
 requirements. For these reasons, we utilize these non-GAAP metrics to
 measure our performance at all levels. These measures do not
 represent, and should not be considered as alternatives to net cash
 provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with
 GAAP. Moreover, these measures do not necessarily indicate whether
 cash flow will be sufficient for such items as working capital or
 capital expenditures, or to react to changes in our industry or to
 the economy generally. Because these measures are not calculated by
 all companies in the same fashion, they may not be comparable to
 similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

 Note d: The Company's Series A redeemable, convertible preferred
 stock ("Series A preferred) contains a mandatory redemption provision
 effective August 11, 2007. As the Company does not anticipate that
 the Series A preferred will be converted to Class A Common Stock by
 the redemption date, the Company has reflected the redemption value
 of the Series A preferred as a current liability at April 30, 2007.

        Following is a reconciliation of EBITDA to Net Cash Provided
 by Operating Activities:

                              Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
                               -----------------   -------------------
                                   April 30,            April 30,
                                2006      2007       2006       2007
                               -------   -------   --------   --------
 Net Cash Provided by
  Operating Activities         $13,207   $25,729   $ 75,650   $ 81,532

 Changes in assets and liabilities,
  net of effects of acquisitions
  and divestitures               5,912    (8,249)     7,147     (4,059)
 Deferred income taxes            (972)   11,710     (4,984)    11,246
 Stock-based compensation           --      (191)        --       (702)
 Excess tax benefit on the
  exercise of stock options         --      (145)        --         --
 Provision for income taxes        146   (12,313)     7,306     (8,481)
 Interest expense, net           8,401    10,135     31,287     38,859
 Depletion of landfill operating
  lease obligations             (1,633)   (1,478)    (6,284)    (7,021)
 Gain on sale of equipment         338       215        105        806
 Other income                     (216)     (221)    (1,880)      (572)
                               -------   -------   --------   --------
 EBITDA                        $25,183   $25,192   $108,347   $111,608
                               =======   =======   ========   ========


    Following is a reconciliation of Free Cash Flow to Net Cash
Provided by Operating Activities:

                             Three Months Ended    Twelve Months Ended
                             -------------------   -------------------
                                  April 30,             April 30,
                               2006       2007       2006       2007
                             --------   --------   --------   --------
 EBITDA                      $ 25,183   $ 25,192   $108,347   $111,608
  Add
   (deduct):
    Cash interest             (13,657)   (14,943)   (29,563)   (36,040)
    Capital expenditures      (25,325)   (24,972)  (112,843)  (102,173)
    Cash taxes                     13       (468)    (1,286)    (2,708)
    Depletion of landfill
     operating lease
     obligations                1,633      1,478      6,284      7,021
    Change in working capital,
     adjusted for non-cash
     items                     (1,585)    13,855     (9,131)     2,252
                             --------   --------   --------   --------
 FREE CASH FLOW               (13,738)       142    (38,192)   (20,040)

 Add
  (deduct):
   Capital expenditures        25,325     24,972    112,843    102,173
   Other                        1,620        615        999       (601)
                             --------   --------   --------   --------
 Net Cash Provided by
  Operating Activities       $ 13,207   $ 25,729   $ 75,650   $ 81,532
                             ========   ========   ========   ========

             CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                       SUPPLEMENTAL DATA TABLES
                              (Unaudited)
                            (In thousands)

        Amounts of the Company's total revenues attributable to
 services provided are as follows:

                                Three Months Ended  Twelve Months Ended
                                      April 30,           April 30,
                                ------------------   ------------------
                                  2006      2007       2006      2007
                                --------  --------   --------  --------
 Collection                     $ 60,552  $ 61,202   $253,282  $260,951
 Landfill / disposal facilities   23,874    23,875     97,801   106,465
 Transfer                          7,708     5,785     33,638    30,892
 Recycling                        31,991    39,393    130,451   148,682
                                --------  --------   --------  --------
 Total revenues                 $124,125  $130,255   $515,172  $546,990
                                ========  ========   ========  ========

 Components of revenue growth for the three months ended April 30, 2007
 compared to the three months ended April 30, 2006:

                                                            Percentage
                                                            ----------
 Solid Waste Operations (1)  Price                              2.9%
                             Volume                            -5.8%
                             Solid waste commodity
                              price and volume                  0.5%
                                                               ----
 Total growth - Solid Waste Operations                         -2.4%
                                                               ====

 FCR  Operations (1)         Price                             23.3%
                             Volume                             1.8%
                                                               ----
 Total growth - FCR Operations                                 25.1%
                                                               ====

 Rollover effect of acquisitions (as a percentage
  of total revenues)                                            0.7%

 Total revenue growth                                           4.9%

 (1) - Calculated as a percentage of segment revenues

 Solid Waste Internalization Rates by Region:

                              Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
                                   April 30,            April 30,
                                --------------       --------------
                                2006      2007       2006      2007
                                ----      ----       ----      ----
 North Eastern region           59.2%     57.8%      57.8%     56.5%
 South Eastern region           38.6%     41.4%      40.4%     42.1%
 Central region                 79.8%     78.5%      79.2%     77.7%
 Western region                 50.7%     53.3%      44.2%     49.8%
                                ----      ----       ----      ----
 Solid Waste Operations         58.8%     60.2%      56.6%     58.3%
                                ====      ====       ====      ====


 US GreenFiber (50% owned) Financial Statistics:

                              Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
                                    April 30,            April 30,
                               -----------------   -------------------
                                2006       2007      2006        2007
                               -------   -------   --------   --------
 Revenues                      $46,722   $40,758   $178,744   $186,284
 Net income (loss)               2,079    (1,191)    11,714      4,227
 Cash flow from operations      16,579     1,435     29,190     14,511
 Net working capital changes    12,301      (348)    10,027       (406)
 EBITDA                        $ 4,278   $ 1,783   $ 19,163   $ 14,917

 As a percentage of revenue:

 Net income                        4.4%     -2.9%       6.6%       2.3%
 EBITDA                            9.2%      4.4%      10.7%       8.0%

 Components of Growth versus Maintenance Capital Expenditures (1):

                              Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
                                    April 30,          April 30,
                               ----------------    ------------------
                                 2006     2007       2006      2007
                               -------  -------    --------  --------
 Growth Capital Expenditures:
  Landfill Development         $ 5,868  $ 8,084    $ 33,202  $ 22,849
  Boston MRF Building               --       --       5,998        --
  MRF Equipment Upgrades         3,290    1,971       3,290     8,209
  Other                          1,764    1,537       4,984     5,680
                               -------  -------    --------  --------
 Total Growth Capital
  Expenditures                  10,922   11,592      47,474    36,738
                               -------  -------    --------  --------
 Maintenance Capital
  Expenditures:
   Vehicles, Machinery/Equipment
    and Containers               2,250    5,688      25,228    27,075
  Landfill Construction
   & Equipment                   9,043    5,649      31,812    32,500
  Facilities                     2,220    1,597       6,480     4,224
  Other                            890      446       1,849     1,636
                               -------  -------    --------  --------
 Total Maintenance Capital
  Expenditures                  14,403   13,380      65,369    65,435
                               -------  -------    --------  --------
 Total Capital Expenditures    $25,325  $24,972    $112,843  $102,173
                               =======  =======    ========  ========

 (1) The Company's capital expenditures are broadly defined as
     pertaining to either growth or maintenance activities. Growth
     capital expenditures are defined as costs related to development
     of new airspace, permit expansions, new recycling contracts along
     with incremental costs of equipment and infrastructure added to
     further such activities. Growth capital expenditures include the
     cost of equipment added directly as a result of new business as
     well as expenditures associated with increasing infrastructure to
     increase throughput at transfer stations and recycling
     facilities. Growth capital expenditures also include those
     outlays associated with acquiring landfill operating leases,
     which do not meet the operating lease payment definition, but
     which were included as a commitment in the successful bid.
     Maintenance capital expenditures are defined as landfill cell
     construction costs not related to expansion airspace, costs for
     normal permit renewals and replacement costs for equipment due to
     age or obsolescence.

This news release was distributed by PrimeNewswire, www.primenewswire.com

SOURCE: Casella Waste Systems, Inc

Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
          Richard Norris, Chief Financial Officer
          Ned Coletta, Director of Investor Relations 
          Joseph Fusco, Vice President
          (802) 775-0325
          http://www.casella.com.

(C) Copyright 2007 PrimeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.

News Provided by COMTEX