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                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS AND KTI REVISE TERMS OF MERGER AGREEMENT

TRANSACTION REMAINS ACCRETIVE, WILL CLOSE DURING SUMMER 1999

   RUTLAND, VERMONT (May 13, 1999)--Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CWST)
and KTI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTIE; KTIEE) today announced that they have revised the
terms of their merger agreement.

     Under the terms of the revised merger agreement, KTI shareholders will 
receive 0.59 shares of Casella Waste Systems' stock for every share of KTI 
stock. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the revised 
merger agreement; the closing of the merger is contingent upon shareholder 
approval from both companies.

     "We've always strongly believed in the core strategic rationale for the
transaction," John Casella, chairman and chief executive officer of Casella
Waste Systems, said. "The revised terms of the merger agreement should allow us
to reaffirm the level of confidence this immediately accretive transaction
delivers--both in terms of the necessary financial performance and growth in
shareholder value."

     "Casella Waste Systems' focused strategy and disciplined operations
combined with KTI's assets, particularly our disposal facilities, will
strengthen the merged company's position as a leading provider of solid waste
services in the Northeast," Ross Pirasteh, chairman of KTI, said. "In addition,
the transaction will provide the company with highly attractive, enhanced growth
opportunities over the next three to five years."

     After the merger, Casella will have an 11-member board of directors--six
from Casella and five from KTI.

     For the fiscal year ending April 30, 2000, Casella Waste Systems projects
that, as a result of the merger, company revenues will be approximately $530
million; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
will be approximately $135 million; and earnings per share (EPS) will be $1.30.

     Casella Waste Systems, headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, is a regional,
integrated, non-hazardous solid waste services company that provides collection,
transfer, disposal and recycling services in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine,
northern Massachusetts, upstate New York, and northern Pennsylvania.


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     The company's principal operations consist of five Subtitle D landfills and
one permitted construction and demolition debris landfill, 46 transfer stations,
13 recycling processing facilities, and 34 collection operations which serve
over 220,000 commercial, municipal and residential customers.

     KTI is an integrated value-added processor in the solid waste management
industry. The company operates 51 facilities in 21 states and Canada in four
operating divisions: waste-to-energy, commercial recycling, residential
recycling, and finished products.

     For further information, contact Joseph Fusco, Vice President; Jerry Cifor,
Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at (802) 775-0325; or visit the
company's website at www.casella.com.

     This press release, especially with respect to the consummation of the
merger and its financial and operational impact and projected financial results,
contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are a
substantial delay in the expected closing of the transaction, the combined
company's ability to realize expected synergies from the transaction, the
ability to successfully integrate the two companies and otherwise to manage
growth, a history of losses, the ability to identify, acquire and integrate
acquisition targets, dependence on management, the uncertain ability to finance
the company's growth, limitations on landfill permitting and expansion and
geographic concentration, a general economic downturn, changes in the law and
regulations relating to the environment, competition, and the risk factors
detailed from time to time in Casella Waste Systems' and KTI's periodic reports
and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
