Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Completes Refinancing of Senior Secured Credit Facility

RUTLAND, VT, Jul 09 (MARKET WIRE) --
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste,
recycling and resource management services company, announced today that
it has successfully completed the refinancing of its existing senior
secured debt facilities with a senior secured first lien credit facility
(the "Senior Secured Credit Facility"), consisting of a $177.5 million
revolving credit facility (the "Revolver Facility") and a $130.0 million
aggregate principal term loan (the "Term Loan B"). In connection with the
Senior Secured Credit Facility, the company simultaneously completed the
previously announced offering of $180.0 million aggregate principal
amount of 11% senior second lien notes due 2014 (the "Notes").

"Because of our stable cash flow generation and our valuable solid waste
and resource optimization assets we were able to complete a successful
refinancing of our senior secured debt maturities despite the continued
weakness in the financial system," John W. Casella, chairman and CEO of
Casella Waste Systems, said. "We received strong market demand for both
the Notes offering and the Term Loan B. Since the Notes offering was
oversubscribed, we were able to obtain a favorable interest rate and
favorable original issue discount."

"With the strong demand for the Term Loan B, we were able to downsize the
Notes offering by $25.0 million and upsize the Term Loan B by $30.0
million," Casella said. "This is a favorable outcome because the effective
yield of the Term Loan B is approximately 3.60% lower than the Notes, and
the Term Loan B is also pre-payable."

"Our next debt maturity is in December 2012, before which our team will
execute against our mid-term strategy to reduce debt leverage by
increasing cash flows and selling non-core assets," Casella said. "In
addition, under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, the financial
covenants were reset to provide us with more flexibility compared to the
refinanced facilities. With the completion of the refinancing, the
company is in full compliance with the covenants as amended under the new
facility."

The net proceeds from the Senior Secured Credit Facility and from the
Notes offering were used to refinance the borrowings under the company's
$525.0 million senior secured credit facility due April 2010. After the
transaction, the company expects to have $87.3 million of unused capacity
on the Revolver Facility, after taking into account $51.7 million of
letters of credit.

For the first two quarters after the closing date, the interest rate for
borrowings under the $177.5 million Revolver Facility will be LIBOR plus a
margin of 4.50% per annum, and thereafter the applicable margin will be
determined in accordance with the pricing grid as set forth in the Second
Amended and Restated Revolving Credit and Term Loan Agreement dated July
9, 2009. The interest rate for the $130.0 million aggregate principal Term
Loan B will be LIBOR plus a margin of 5.00% per annum, provided that LIBOR
shall not be less than 2.00% per annum. The Term Loan B was issued at an
original issue price of 94.500% of the principal amount of the loan.

The Senior Secured Credit Facility is subject to customary affirmative,
negative, and financial covenants, generally consistent with the company's
existing credit agreement. The company has the right to increase the
amount of the Senior Secured Credit Facility by an aggregate amount of
$42.5 million, in its discretion, subject to certain conditions.

The company has engaged its independent registered accounting firm to
re-audit its financial statements for the 2009 fiscal year following this
refinancing and the closing of the offering of the Notes. The company
expects that the opinion on these re-audited financial statements will
eliminate the explanatory paragraph about its ability to continue as a
going concern.

The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "Securities Act"), and unless so registered, may not be
offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable
exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration
requirements of the Securities Act and other applicable securities laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy these Notes, nor shall there be any sale
of these Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or
sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under
the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This notice is being issued
pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act.

About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.

Casella Waste Systems is an integrated solid waste and resource management
company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. 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 http://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 Casella "believes,"
"expects," "anticipates," "plans," "may," "will," "would," "intends,"
"estimates" and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or
affirmative. Among the forward-looking statements in this press release
are statements regarding the intended use of the proceeds from the
refinancing and the Company's expectations that the auditor's opinion on
its re-audited financial statements will eliminate the explanatory
paragraph about its ability to continue as a going concern. All of these
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates,
forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which Casella
operates and management's beliefs and assumptions. Casella cannot
guarantee that it actually will achieve the plans, intentions or
expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements made. Such
forward-looking statements, and all phases of Casella's 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
its forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include or
relate to, among other things: Casella may be unable to reduce costs or
increase revenues sufficiently to achieve estimated EBITDA and other
targets; landfill operations and permit status may be affected by factors
outside its control; Casella may be required to incur capital
expenditures in excess of its estimates; fluctuations in the commodity
pricing of its recyclables may make it more difficult for Casella to
predict its results of operations or meet its estimates; and Casella may
incur environmental charges or asset impairments in the future. There are
a number of other important risks and uncertainties that could cause
Casella's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by
such forward-looking statements. These additional risks and uncertainties
include, without limitation, those detailed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in
Casella's Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2009. Casella does not
necessarily intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required.

Contact:
Ned Coletta
Director of Investor Relations
(802) 772-2239

Media Contact:
Joseph Fusco
Vice President
(802) 772-2247

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