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photo credit: Sonoma County
Three pest control companies that improperly disposed of hazardous waste at dozens of sites around the state and failed to secure sensitive customer records have agreed to pay over $3.1 million to resolve a civil complaint brought by multiple district attorneys' offices.
The civil complaint was filed against Orkin Services of California, Crane Pest Control, and Clark Pest Control of Stockton, which are all owned by Georgia-based Rollins Inc.The companies were discovered to have thrown away pesticides that were toxic, ignitable and corrosive in municipal dumpsters destined for regular landfills, according to Wednesday press statements from Bay Area district attorneys' offices, which led investigations into the companies.
“Our Environmental and Consumer Law Division is working with other district attorney offices throughout California to ensure that businesses comply with environmental protection laws to preserve our natural resources and to ensure confidentiality of protected consumer information,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez
The investigations involved district attorneys around the state and checked 40 dumpsters in 2021 and 2022. They were said to have found thousands of hazardous products illegally disposed of and customer records that were not shredded or otherwise destroyed, which is a violation of privacy laws, according to Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton's Office.
The companies operate a total of 70 facilities in California, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
Products improperly disposed of included a range of hazardous electronic waste and chemicals, including pesticide containers with dangerous liquids, foams, and powders, along with poisonous baits, adhesives, sanitizers, aerosols, batteries, and other material not permitted to be thrown in dumpsters headed for regular landfills.
The district attorneys' offices said that Orkin and Clark Pest Control of Stockton were cooperative with the investigation once notified of the violations.
A spokesperson for Orkin said the company had worked with investigators to resolve the issues and was taking steps--which are now also being required by the stipulated judgement--to correct the violations.
"Since being notified that a few of our brands in California were being investigated, we quickly began working cooperatively with the District Attorneys' offices. Since that time, we have improved our operational and service processes and policies to better reflect the highest industry standards," a company spokesperson said.
Requests for comment from Crane Pest Control, Clark Pest Control of Stockton and their parent company Rollins Inc. were not returned Wednesday afternoon.
The stipulated judgement includes about $2 million in civil penalties, over $300,000 to recover investigative costs, and about $800,000 that will be directed to environmental compliance measures, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
The companies agreed to retain a third-party auditor for five years to monitor 10% of their dumpsters, make reports of those audits, train employees on proper waste disposal, and pay for thousands of hours of additional audit and compliance-related measures to be taken internally, the DA's Office said in a news release.
The complaint was brought by the district attorneys of the counties of Sonoma, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, Solano, Monterey and five others in Northern and Southern California.
The investigations involved district attorneys around the state and checked 40 dumpsters in 2021 and 2022. They were said to have found thousands of hazardous products illegally disposed of and customer records that were not shredded or otherwise destroyed, which is a violation of privacy laws, according to Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton's Office.
The companies operate a total of 70 facilities in California, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
Products improperly disposed of included a range of hazardous electronic waste and chemicals, including pesticide containers with dangerous liquids, foams, and powders, along with poisonous baits, adhesives, sanitizers, aerosols, batteries, and other material not permitted to be thrown in dumpsters headed for regular landfills.
The district attorneys' offices said that Orkin and Clark Pest Control of Stockton were cooperative with the investigation once notified of the violations.
A spokesperson for Orkin said the company had worked with investigators to resolve the issues and was taking steps--which are now also being required by the stipulated judgement--to correct the violations.
"Since being notified that a few of our brands in California were being investigated, we quickly began working cooperatively with the District Attorneys' offices. Since that time, we have improved our operational and service processes and policies to better reflect the highest industry standards," a company spokesperson said.
Requests for comment from Crane Pest Control, Clark Pest Control of Stockton and their parent company Rollins Inc. were not returned Wednesday afternoon.
The stipulated judgement includes about $2 million in civil penalties, over $300,000 to recover investigative costs, and about $800,000 that will be directed to environmental compliance measures, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
The companies agreed to retain a third-party auditor for five years to monitor 10% of their dumpsters, make reports of those audits, train employees on proper waste disposal, and pay for thousands of hours of additional audit and compliance-related measures to be taken internally, the DA's Office said in a news release.
The complaint was brought by the district attorneys of the counties of Sonoma, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, Solano, Monterey and five others in Northern and Southern California.
