Meridian Waste Holley Sides Named to Waste360's 2017 40 Under 40 Award List

Recognized as Rising Star and Change Agent in the Waste and Recycling Industry

MILTON, GA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2017 / Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRDN) is proud to announce Holley Sides, Director of Business Operations and Systems, has been named to Waste360's 2017 40 Under 40 award list, which showcases the next generation of innovative leaders shaping the future of the waste and recycling industry.

Sides began her career as a dispatcher and has held a multitude of roles through the years all leading to her current position where she manages business operations and systems for Meridian Waste Solutions, a vertically integrated, non-hazardous solid waste services company.

"One of the many benefits of the solid waste industry is the career path available to hard working, dedicated individuals such as Holley," said Wally Hall, Meridian Waste's Chief Operating Officer. "Holley is a true garbage lady earning each promotion and growth opportunity throughout her career. It's few and far between these days that you hear the success story of starting on the ground floor and step-by-step achieving leadership and management success, but Holley has proven that old-fashioned values and common sense lead to great rewards. From dispatcher to customer service manager to business systems analyst to corporate director, she has benefited her company and her teammates every step of the way. I am proud of her as a person, a professional and am delighted our industry has realized her contributions to a cleaner America with this recognition."

"My passion is helping people work better as a team by making sure the right tools are in place and working as efficiently as possible," said Sides. "I love this business because it's fast paced, and at the end of the day, if our drivers are back safe and our customers are serviced well, we can all see the difference we made working together."

The Waste360 40 Under 40 awards program recognizes inspiring and innovative professionals under the age of 40 whose work in waste, recycling and organics has made a significant contribution to industry. The winners are involved in many different aspects including hauling, composting, policy-making and municipal initiatives. A panel of expert judges from Waste360 evaluated the nominations and consulted with an external advisor to select the finalists and winners.

Sides will be formally recognized at WasteExpo, North America's largest solid waste, recycling and organics industry event, taking place in May in New Orleans.

About Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc.:

Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. is a company defined by our commitment to servicing our customers with unwavering respect, fairness and care. We are focused on finding and implementing solutions to solid waste needs and challenges within the industry and for our customers. Currently, the company operates in St. Louis, Missouri and Richmond, Virginia servicing over 118,500 residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers. In addition to a fleet of commercial, residential and roll off trucks, the Company operates four transfer stations, one recycling facility and three municipal solid waste landfills.

For more information, visit www.MWSinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve certain risks and uncertainties. The actual results or outcomes of Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. may differ materially from those anticipated. Although Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any such assumptions could prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. can provide no assurance that any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will prove to be accurate.

In light of the significant uncertainties and risks inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, such information should not be regarded as a representation by Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. that its objectives or plans will be achieved. Included in these uncertainties and risks are, among other things, fluctuations in operating results, general economic conditions, uncertainty regarding the results of certain legal proceedings and competition. Forward-looking statements consist of statements other than a recitation of historical fact and can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "intend," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "estimate" or "continue" or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Because they are forward-looking, such statements should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc.'s most recent Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading entitled "Risk Factors." Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. does not undertake an obligation to update publicly any of its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.