Casella Waste Systems Inc at KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrials and Basic Materials Conference (Virtual) Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. Well, I think it would be great to start out on pricing. Off to a bit of a slower start to the year, I think just given some of the volume wasn't back in the system yet to price on. But is it fair to say pricing programs remain firmly intact? Are you seeing significant rollbacks? Anything to note on customer churn?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : All right, that's helpful. And of course, this disposal of capacity and balance dynamic is one of the more interesting aspects of the story for CWST. I mean, how would you guys characterize the visibility around that dynamic?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : So what could disrupt this visibility? I mean, what would be sort of the bear cage? Is it just that waste-by-rail economics somehow get drastically better? Does the burn plant dynamic in the Northeast potentially have an impact?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : That's super interesting, John. I'll have some more follow-ups around some of those topics. But just so I can keep on my own track, can we just level set on inflation? I mean, is inflation a concern? We've seen some big CPI prints. How does that impact the model and how nimble can CWST be around this dynamic?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Great. And maybe shifting over to volumes, obviously a pretty dramatic year-over-year compare going into the second quarter. Where are we at on the recovery? Maybe you could give us some perspective there, including sort of geography and volume type.

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : And in New York, I mean, it's starting to feel more and more normal every day here, at least from my perspective, in my neighborhood, I mean. Are we starting to see indications that reopening is flowing through and helping that disposal volume recovery continue to progress well?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Got it. So I guess just to summarize on the volumes, it seems like continuing to see that sequential reopening recovery dynamic. And then also, you guys seem pleased with the underlying sort of seasonal ---- normal seasonal uplift underneath that as well.

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. And I mean, of course a lot of the most severely COVID impacted volume buckets have also been some of the higher margins service lines, right? But then we also have to consider medical, G&E coming back into the system, traffic patterns normalizing. Could you just speak to sort of the cadence of that volume improvement relative to how costs are normalizing in the system? Maybe just boil that down, what should we expect from an incremental margin perspective as sort of a base case and what could make that look a little bit better or maybe a little bit worse over the balance of the year?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Super helpful. And you talked about the automation, route optimization. You guys have also talked about back-office efficiencies. I mean, what inning do you think we are in around some of these initiatives? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JUNE 01, 2021 / 4:00PM, CWST.OQ - Casella Waste Systems Inc at KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrials and Basic Materials Conference (Virtual)

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Okay, got it.

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Okay, got it. And you made a comment, Ned, about labor and how that might impact overtime hours coming back into the system. I mean, how are you guys managing through this tightening labor market? Has turnover been impacted? And I am just curious who Casella competes for labor with, and whether these government stimulus checks have been part of that competition.

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Got it. And maybe shifting over to M&A, you guys have talked about the pipeline being very full and active. Could you just refresh us on the size of the pipeline, sort of the (multiple speakers)?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Great. And John, maybe going back to your comments earlier just on sustainability, clearly a big topic in the solid waste sector. So what is the pitch to the investment community? What do you think might surprise people in terms of where CWST is at from a sustainability perspective? And should we view sustainability as a cost or an earnings driver for the business? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JUNE 01, 2021 / 4:00PM, CWST.OQ - Casella Waste Systems Inc at KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrials and Basic Materials Conference (Virtual)

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. Well, we've got one minute left, guys. I have a bunch of more questions, but I thought I'd just pass the floor back to you. I mean, are we missing anything? Anything else you really want to get across to the investment community today?

Question: Sean Eastman - Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. - Analyst : Well, it's always a pleasure, gents. I wish we had another 30 minutes. Thank you so much for joining us, and congrats on all the success.