Born: I was born Nov. 13, 1963, in Waltham, Mass.
Education: I earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1986.
Family: My wife and high-school sweetheart, Joan, and I have been married for 32 years, and we have three adult children: Bryanna (30), Brian (28), and Bobby (27).
When and how did you enter the recycling industry? In my senior year of college, I worked at a small high-grade paper recycling facility and was a hands-on manager who learned it all, from operating a baler to customer facing to understanding the business. After I graduated, I stayed on to become the operations manager for that facility. I worked there for 10 years and remained when KTI Recycling of New England acquired the company. A year later, Casella bought KTI, and I’ve worked for Casella ever since—now going on 24 years.
What was it about the industry that prompted you to build a career in it? I’ve always loved the practice of managing resources from the waste stream to the recycling stream—the process of recovering materials and using them as new resources. Though I focused initially on high-grade paper, I’ve since learned about other recyclable commodities, such as plastics, metals, glass, and paper. My current role at Casella also encompasses our organics team and customer solutions, which helps customers recover items that previously went to a landfill or burn plant. And, of course, coming from the operations side, I was fascinated by the equipment, the processing, and the materials.
What have been your most rewarding professional achievements? Working for a great company like Casella has been my most rewarding professional experience. The company has invested a lot in me in terms of leadership training, how to build effective teams, and how to implement the company’s core values and culture. I’ve been with Casella roughly 24 years, and I’ve been learning and growing the whole time. Brothers John and Doug Casella deserve a lot of credit for creating and maintaining the company’s family culture, even though this is a publicly traded company. We really take care of each other. We do a great job problem-solving throughout the whole company. We would not be as successful without the investment that John and Doug make in their people.
Personal achievements? I’m proud of my 32-year marriage and the life that Joan and I have built over those years. This time of the year, during the holidays, has always been my favorite because of the time spent with my wife and kids.
What are you passionate about? Building teams. I started my career as an operations manager on the plant side, and we built a team there. Then I moved on to a regional position, and we built a team there. I just love building trusting, effective teams. When you bring people together to brainstorm, and the plan is successful, boy, it’s a nice achievement and a great sense of accomplishment.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people. I received a baseball scholarship that paid for my college education. During that period, I played in a college all-star game at Fenway Park in Boston. My sports experience taught me about the importance of teams—having each other’s backs and being there for each other, with everyone rowing in the same direction. There are quite a bit of analogies between team sports and the professional business world with respect to how to work as an effective team.
If you could improve anything about yourself, what would it be? Patience is at the top of my list. I like to make decisions and move quickly to the next thing. I’m fortunate to have people in my family and on my work team who will tell me, “Whoa, let’s slow down a bit.” They help me to take a step back and be more patient.
What do you like to do in your free time? Outside of work, it’s really all about spending time with the family for me. I don’t do enough of it, but I do like to read when I can find the spare time, especially biographies. I find people and their lives fascinating. I’m also a golfer, and I follow sports regularly.
When and why did your company decide to join ISRI and the PSI Chapter? Casella joined ISRI and PSI around 1998, and I’ve been the company’s representative in those groups since then. We’re very involved, and we’ve found our membership to be beneficial. ISRI and PSI set the specification standards for our industry, and we wanted to be part of that dialogue. I also appreciate the networking opportunities. There are a lot of great folks in ISRI and PSI, and I always look forward to the conferences.
What PSI leadership positions have you held? What motivated you to become a leader? Three years ago, PSI officers Linda Leone [of WestRock] and Shawn State [of Pratt Recycling] asked me to be a PSI director-at-large. I truly appreciate our PSI board meetings, where we have fantastic conversations about policies, best practices, specifications, and legislation. We exchange ideas and brainstorm solutions that help each other. Plus, the chapter does feel-good philanthropic activities like awarding scholarships. Those are the cherry on top.
What are the major challenges facing your company and the overall recycling industry today? Casella operates in an area of the country that is facing some disposal crises due to diminishing landfill space and the closing of incinerators, which makes managing resources so much more important. The more materials we can extract from the waste stream, the fewer worries we’ll have about finding disposal outlets. So that’s our challenge—how can we recover more materials that otherwise would be discarded or burned?
The curbside recycling industry also is always challenged regarding contamination levels in the recycling stream. We need to educate the public about what to throw in the bin and what not to throw in the bin. Processors like us are challenged to recycle more and different materials while still meeting a quality standard. Part of the solution is to continue encouraging product designers to create products and packaging that can be easily recycled. We’ve come a long way on that front in the past 15 years, but there’s still work to be done.
