Sims Recycling Solutions Agrees for $400K Settlement with DTSC

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The world’s leading information technology asset disposition (ITAD) service provider Sims Recycling Solutions (SRS) has entered into a settlement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) on violations issued against its Roseville shredder facility. As part of the settlement, SRS has agreed to pay a total of $400,000, comprising of $275,000 towards civil penalty and $125,000 towards reimbursement of costs to DTSC.

The DTSC had received complaints regarding SRS’ Roseville facility regarding management of baghouse dust and other hazardous wastes generated by the electronic waste recycling operations. Initially, the company had been shipping the baghouse dust to a smelter facility in Canada.

The SRS facility located in 8855 Washington Boulevard was earlier cited for several violations of state’s Hazardous Waste Control Law in 2011. Following complaints in August 2011, DTSC had carried out inspection at the facility. The DTSC inspection had discovered serious violations, following which a summary of violations was issued to SRS in October. Also, supplemental summary of violations were issued during March and May in 2012.

The alleged violations included failure of the company to provide initial as well as annual training to personnel who manage or supervise hazardous universal wastes. The company also failed to maintain written training materials required towards proper identification of the hazards associated with the universal waste, proper procedures for responding to release of the waste and proper labeling and tracking of the universal waste. In fact, these were repeated violations from the inspections conducted in 2009 and 2010.

Another inspection was held at the facility in March 2015, which discovered additional violations that were entirely different from the ones cited in 2011. A summary of violations was later issued to the company in May 2015. Further inspections were conducted in February 2016 and January this year. Incidentally, the inspections carried out during 2016 and 2017 could not identify any violation.

Even though SRS agreed to settle the matter through Stipulation with the court, it has not admitted to any of the allegations or claims made in the complaint. According to Steve Skurnac, president of SRS, all issues have long been resolved. The company no longer operates the Roseville shredder, he added.

Meantime, Keith Kihara, chief of DTSC’s Enforcement and Emergency Response Division noted that DTSC will take all violations of hazardous waste laws seriously, as it believes that compliance with the laws are critical towards protection of public health and the environment.