Casella Waste Management of Massachusetts appears poised to be the next owner of the Pittsfield’s waste-to-energy plant. An auction had been scheduled for next week for the plant, but no other bidders have surfaced. The plant’s owner, Community Eco Power LLC, declared bankruptcy in June 2021.
In February, Casella stepped forward with an offer to purchase the plant for $1 million and turn it into a transfer station — a facility that acts as a kind of middleman in the waste management process by unloading waste collected from nearby customers on to larger secondary trucks that take the waste to a landfill.
In lieu of an auction, a hearing has been scheduled with the bankruptcy court for April 26 to decide whether the sale to Casella will be approved. As part of the sale process, Community Eco Power had to make sure all “qualified bidders” had an opportunity to outbid the offer and buy the plant. Alternative bidders had until April 1 to submit bids in advance of an auction scheduled for April 12. Community Eco Power has been settling its affairs quickly since the proposal of a sale.