Casella to sell tire recycling assets

RUTLAND, Vt. (March 14)—Casella Waste Systems Inc. plans to sell its tire recycling business to an investor group, subject to due diligence. "While the scrap tire recycling business possesses significant long-term growth potential, it is not consistent with our renewed focus on our traditional solid waste businesses," Casella Waste President John W. Casella said in a news release. The company´s scrap tire operations include a tire chipping plant in Eliot, Maine; two cryogenic tire processing facilities in Ford Heights, Ill., and Cambridge, Ontario; and a Dallas-based tire collection operation whose high-profile customers include Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and WalMart Inc. Joseph Fusco, vice president of Casella Waste, declined to name the prospective buyer, but said he expected the deal to be completed by mid-May.