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                                                                     Exhibit 4.7

[KTI, INC. LETTERHEAD]



                                  NEWS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                       KTI ACQUIRES MAJORITY INTEREST IN
                       PENOBSCOT ENERGY RECOVERY COMPANY


        Guttenberg, N. J. (Oct. 1, 1997) -- KTI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTIE) announced
today that it has increased its ownership in the Penobscot Energy Recovery
Company (PERC) to 56.5% by purchasing a 49.5% limited partner interest from
Prudential Insurance Company of America for $11.7 million. KTI previously owned
a 7% general partnership interest in PERC. Prudential continues to own 15% of
PERC. KTI has an option to purchase this remaining interest within the next 12
months.

        The remaining 28.3% of PERC is owned by  Energy National, Inc. (ENT), a
subsidiary of PacificCorp., which is also a general partner of PERC.

        Located in Orrington, Maine, PERC processes approximately 250,000 tons
of municipal solid waste a year from 230 Maine communities and generates 25
megawatts of electricity which is sold to Bangor Hydro Electric Company. PERC
generated $30.3 million in revenue and net income of $6.1 million in 1996. For
the six months ended June 30, 1997, PERC had revenues of $15.1 million and $3.4
million of net income.

        Martin J. Sergi, president of KTI, said, "The completion of this
transaction is part of our ongoing strategy to maximize our ownership of the
waste to energy facilities which we operate. This purchase, which is accretive
to earnings, will make an enhanced contribution to our operating results."

        KTI is an award winning environmental company engaged in integrated
waste processing and management in diversified services and markets. The
company processes over one million tons of material a year and is best known
for its expertise in the waste-to-energy sector. KTI was organized in 1983 to
develop and own waste-to-energy facilities with the dual purpose of providing a
means of disposal for non-hazardous municipal solid waste and of generating
electricity from alternative fuel sources. Since then, KTI's operations have
expanded to include the development of an integrated waste management business
providing not only municipal solid waste handling and disposal services, but
also wood waste processing, ash and municipal waste recycling, specialty waste
disposal, transportation facilitation services and transfer station operations.

        In addition to PERC, KTI owns and operates another Maine
waste-to-energy facility, Maine Energy Recovery Company, in Biddeford which
converts non-hazardous solid waste from residential, commercial and industrial
sources into electric power. KTI has developed and operates a wood waste
processing and recycling facility in Lewiston, Maine. In Telogia, Fla., KTI
operates a 14-megawatt power plant and in nearby Cairo, Ga. owns a wood
chipping plant.






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        KTI also holds a majority interest in America's only commercially
operational municipal waste ash recycling facility in Nashville, Tenn., owns a
Maryland company specializing in marketing post-industrial recycled plastics, a
recycling company in Biddeford, a world wide secondary fiber marketing company
based in Portland, Ore. and a Maine-based recycling company.

        KTI will host a conference call to discuss this transaction and other
recent company events on Monday, October 6 at 11 a.m. EDT. The call will be
hosted by Marty Sergi and Ross Pirasteh, chairman of KTI. To participate in
this call, please telephone (800) 272-5652 any time after 10:55 a.m. on October
6. The pass code is "5989#." Please avoid using speakerphones.

        For further information, contact Marty Sergi at KTI, Inc. (201)
854-7777 or Frank N. Hawkins, Jr., Hawk Associates, Inc. at (305) 852-2383.

        Copies of KTI press releases, SEC filings, current price quotes, stock
charts, analysts' comments and other valuable information for investors may be
found on the website http://www.hawkassociates.com.

        This release contains various forward looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which represent the company's expectations or
beliefs concerning future events of the company's financial performance. These
forward looking statements are qualified by important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking
statements. Results actually activated may differ materially from expected
results included in these statements.


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