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Vermont Business Magazine ‘Tis the season for gift giving, festive parties and unfortunately, a lot of unnecessary holiday waste. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, Americans throw away 25% more trash than any other time of year – amounting to an estimated 125,000 tons of plastic packaging discarded every holiday season, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Casella), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, in partnership with TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that specializes in hard-to-recycle materials, is doing something to reduce these numbers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported December 7 that hospitalizations fell to 31 from 38 last week, but overall COVID-19 cases rose to 439 from 273. COVID-19 infections remain at a "Low" level for the fifth week, according to the VDH, after increasing hospitalizations had sent them to "Medium" several weeks ago (from a low of 30). There were no COVID-related deaths last week and none so far in December, with a pandemic total of 781. There were 22 deaths in November (the VDH report could be updated as more data becomes available). There were 19 COVID-related fatalities in August, 11 in September and 30 in October. Vermont has the second lowest fatality rate in the US (125 per 100K).

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Reps Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Donald M Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, and Cori Bush (D-Mo), on Friday led a letter with more than 70 total signers in the House and Senate urging President Biden to take executive action to guarantee rail workers paid sick days.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts visited White’s Tree Farm in Essex today to celebrate the arrival of the 2022 Christmas season with the help of Vermont’s farmers. The trees cut during this visit will decorate the Pavilion Building in Montpelier, which houses the Governor’s Office. According to the 2017 USDA Census, there are 3,650 acres of Christmas tree production in Vermont across 70 farms with a crop worth more than $2.6 million. Many more Vermonters bring to market Christmas trees, wreaths, garland and other decorator items each year.

Vermont Business Magazine Are you and your team ready to become your own ESG consultants? This Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Learning Cohort takes the guesswork out of reporting with a focus on ESG disclosure, an approach that is among the fastest growing voluntary disclosures in history and has become the primary means of documenting how organizations “do well by doing good.”

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (Nasdaq: CWST), based in Rutland, introduced its Mack LR Electric model, the first electric refuse vehicle in the State of Vermont, in a ceremony at the Killington Grand Hotel in front of over 100 onlookers including local and state representatives, local business leaders, customers, employees, and more. The event was highlighted by remarks from Vermont Governor, Phil Scott, who referred to the announcement as another exciting step in Vermont’s efforts to electrify the transportation sector.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50-years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies, today announced that it was awarded a $2.4 million contract to implement solar energy solutions in Wilton, Maine. New award of 4.0 MW will add to iSun’s construction ready portfolio of 16.1 MW of projects in Maine.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy, US Senator Bernie Sanders, and US Representative Peter Welch will be on hand to recognize nine young Vermonters who are being nominated to United States Service Academies to be members of the Class of 2027. At an annual reception at the Vermont State House, nominees from across Vermont will receive nomination certificates signed by members of the Vermont Congressional Delegation. Their families are also invited. The names of this year’s nominees are selected by Leahy, Sanders, and Welch through a competitive vetting process and forwarded to the Academies for final decisions.

Vermont Business Magazine In-person workshops build upon collection of virtual digital literacy courses created in collaboration with the Public Library Association. The program will be offered at the Brandon Free Public Library and the Springfield Town Library. As part of AT&T’s support for digital literacy initiatives nationwide, the company is helping Public Library Association (PLA) bring free bilingual, in-person digital literacy workshops to nearly 160 libraries across the country, including in Vermont. These contributions are part of their $2 billion commitment made in 2021 to help bridge the digital divide.

Vermont Business Magazine Putney community members are encouraged to participate in the second phase of the Our Future Putney Community Forums to set actionable priorities together for the future of their town. The meeting will take place on Monday, December 12 from 6:30pm to 9pm at the Putney Central School. This event is the second phase of a three-part Community Visit process that provides an opportunity for members of the Putney community to review potential action items, discuss and advocate for what is most important for their community, and vote on and sign up to begin moving priorities forward.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as avian influenza, in a non-commercial backyard (non-poultry) flock in Lamoille County this week. Samples taken by VAAFM and USDA officials on Monday were tested and confirmed for HPAI by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. The small flock of just over 50 birds suffered high mortality over the weekend of December 3-4, and the owners reached out to VAAFM Monday morning. The remaining flock was quarantined to prevent the spread of disease and was depopulated today by officials from VAAFM and USDA, with the agreement and understanding of the flock’s owners.