Exhibit 99.2

                               Amendment No. 2

                                       To

                          Agreement and Plan of Merger

      The  Agreement  and Plan of  Merger  dated as of  January  12,  1999  (the
"Agreement"),  by and among Casella Waste Systems,  Inc., a Delaware corporation
("Buyer"), Rutland Acquisition Sub, Inc., a New Jersey corporation and a direct,
wholly-owned subsidiary of Buyer ("Sub") and KTI, Inc., a New Jersey corporation
("Seller'),  as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Agreement and Plan of Merger dated
May 12, 1999  ("Amendment  No. 1"), is hereby  amended as follows as of this 8th
day of September,  1999.  Capitalized  terms not otherwise  defined herein shall
have the meanings set forth in the Agreement.

       1. The  reference to "0.59 shares" in Section  2.01(c) is hereby  deleted
and "0.51  shares" is hereby  substituted  in lieu  thereof.

       2. Section 3.06 is hereby deleted, and the following shall be inserted in
lieu thereof:

      "Section 3.06 ABSENCE OF CERTAIN CHANGES OR EVENTS. Except as disclosed in
the Seller SEC  Reports  filed prior to the date  hereof,  since the date of the
Seller Balance Sheet,  Seller and its Subsidiaries have conducted their business
only in the ordinary  course and in a manner  consistent with past practice and,
since such date, there has not been (i) any damage, destruction or loss (whether
or  not  covered  by  insurance)   with  respect  to  Seller's  or  any  of  its
Subsidiaries'  assets having a Seller Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) any other
action or event that would  have  required  the  consent  of Buyer  pursuant  to
Section 5.01 of this  Agreement had such action or event occurred after the date
of this Agreement.

       3. Section 3.18 is hereby deleted, and the following shall be inserted in
lieu thereof: "Intentionally omitted."

       4. Section 4.17 is hereby deleted, and the following shall be inserted in
lieu thereof: "Intentionally omitted."

       5. Section 7.01(c) is hereby deleted, and the following shall be inserted
in lieu thereof: "Intentionally omitted."

       6. Section 7.02(c) is hereby deleted, and the following shall be inserted
in lieu thereof:

      "(c) LOCK-UP AGREEMENTS.  Each of Messrs. Ross Pirasteh,  Martin Sergi and
Paul Garrett  shall have entered  into an agreement  with the Buyer  pursuant to
which they agree  that,  during the period  beginning  on the  Closing  Date and
continuing to and including the date 365 days after the Closing Date,  they will
not offer, sell,  contract to sell or otherwise dispose of, any of the shares of
Buyer Common Stock received by them pursuant to the Agreement,  or any rights in
any such shares."

       7. Section 7.02(h) is hereby deleted, and the following shall be inserted
in lieu thereof: "Intentionally omitted."

       8. The  reference to  "September  30, 1999" in Section  8.01(b) is hereby
deleted and "December 15, 1999" is hereby substituted in lieu thereof.

       9. A new Section 8.01(g) shall be added, which shall read as follows:

      (g) by Seller,  if on or prior to September  30, 1999, it has not received
an  opinion,  satisfactory  in form and  substance  to Seller in its  reasonable
judgment, from a financial advisor to the effect that the Exchange Ratio is fair
to the  holders of Seller  Common  Stock  from a  financial  point of view.

       10.  Schedule 6.15 is hereby  deleted and Schedule  6.15 attached  hereto
shall be substituted in lieu thereof.

       11. The Seller Disclosure  Schedule attached to Amendment No. 1 is hereby
deleted and the Seller Disclosure  Schedule attached hereto shall be inserted in
lieu thereof.

       12. The Buyer Disclosure  Schedule  attached to Amendment No. 1 is hereby
deleted and the Buyer Disclosure  Schedule  attached hereto shall be inserted in
lieu thereof.

       13. The form of employment  agreement  referenced in Section  7.02(g) and
attached as Exhibit D to the Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following
sentence to the end of Section 16 thereof:  "Without  limiting the generality of
the  foregoing,  any  employment  agreement  or other  arrangement  between  the
Employee  and KTI,  Inc.  or any  subsidiary  thereof is hereby  terminated  and
neither party shall have any further obligation on account thereof."

       14. In all other  respects,  the Agreement shall remain in full force and
effect,  and all references in the Agreement to "this  Agreement" shall mean the
Agreement as amended hereby.

                [Remainder of page intentionally left blank.]







      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Buyer, Sub and Seller have caused this Agreement to be
signed by their  respective  officers  thereunto duly  authorized as of the date
first written above.

                                       CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC.

                                       By:  /s/ John W. Casella
                                           ------------------------------------
                                          John W. Casella, Chairman and CEO



                                       RUTLAND ACQUISITION SUB, INC.

                                       By: /s/ John W. Casella
                                           ------------------------------------
                                          John W. Casella, President



                                    KTI, INC.

                                       By:  /s/ Ross Pirasteh
                                          -------------------------------------
                                          Ross Pirasteh, Chairman


     [Signature page to Amendment No. 2 to Agreement and Plan of Merger]







                                SCHEDULE 6.15

                     LIST OF BUYER'S DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
                            AS OF THE EFFECTIVE TIME

President and Chief Executive Officer:  John Casella
Senior Vice President - Chief Operating Officer:  James Bohlig
Executive Vice President - Business Development:  Martin Sergi
Chief Financial Officer:  Jerry Cifor

Directors:

3 - Buyer:              2 - Seller:

1.  John Casella        1.  Martin Sergi

2.  James Bohlig        2.  Ross Pirasteh (Chairman of the Board)
3.  Douglas Casella

6 - Independent:

Four - designated by Buyer
Two - designated by Seller



CLASS II (EXPIRES 1999)       CLASS III (EXPIRES 2000)   CLASS I (EXPIRES 2001)
- -----------------------       ------------------------   ----------------------

                                                
James Bohlig                  John Casella               Douglas Casella
Martin Sergi                  To be designated by Buyer  Ross Pirasteh
To be designated by Buyer     To be designated by Buyer  To be designated by Buyer
To be designated by Seller                               To be designated by Seller