Camden scrap recycler EMR sued by New Jersey attorney general and DEP over hazardous fires

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and Department of Environmental Protection on Monday filed a lawsuit against EMR Advanced Recycling, EMR USA Holdings, EMR Eastern, and Camden Iron & Metal in Camden. The politically connected scrap recycling company’s facilities have been the site of at least 12 hazardous fires in the past five years.

Smoke and hazardous fumes from the fires have caused havoc in residential neighborhoods along Camden’s south waterfront, home to some of the poorest people in New Jersey.

In February 2025, a four-alarm fire that ignited in a two-story-tall mountain of scrap at EMR’s South Front Street yard took firefighters eight hours to bring under control and forced more than 100 families to evacuate their homes. The smoke and fumes from the blaze triggered asthma attacks and other acute respiratory problems for some residents. Company representatives said the fire was caused by lithium-ion batteries that were improperly delivered to the scrapyard.

State officials said they are filing the lawsuit now because EMR has failed for years to take meaningful corrective action.

“It is outrageous that EMR has failed to correct the dangerous conditions at its facilities in Camden. We’re taking action today to hold EMR accountable for its reprehensible conduct and to protect Camden residents,” said Attorney General Matthew Platkin. “Companies should never be allowed to turn a quick buck at the expense of their communities.”

The public nuisance suit asks the Superior Court to order a litany of corrective measures to protect residents and prevent further fires. Most of the measures require EMR to better track and contain mounds of hazardous car shreddings that have fueled the fires.

State environmental regulators, who have filed multiple violations against EMR in Camden and other New Jersey cities, welcomed the lawsuit.

The suit cites at least three fires at another EMR facility previously located in Newark, and at least two fires in scrap metal piles at an EMR Bayonne facility. Similarly, a May 2022 fire occurred on a barge in the Delaware Bay carrying scrap metal between EMR facilities in Newark and Camden.

“Neighbors of EMR should not have to live in fear of the industrial business next door to them, wondering whether the air is safe to breathe and the company values its role in the community as much as its profits,” said Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

In August, EMR and the city of Camden reached a $6.7 million “memorandum of understanding” agreement that both parties said was designed to protect residents. The agreement called for the scrap recycler to install an aerial fire suppression system and vacate its property at South 6th Street. The deal also mandated that EMR set up a $1 million fund for the waterfront neighborhood.

Residents remained skeptical, however, noting that the deal was short on specifics. The city would never enforce it, they said.

Joseph Balzano, EMR’s chief operating officer, issued a brief statement Monday criticizing the state and shifting blame for the serial fires.

“It appears the current Attorney General is not aware of the MOU and EMR’s fire suppression investments. We look forward to working with the state of New Jersey to address the scourge of lithium-ion battery fires plaguing recycling facilities throughout the country,” Balzano said. “The safety of our employees and the Camden community residents is our number one priority.”

The Balzano family has been active in Camden civic affairs for three generations and enjoys a close association with city political figures. Influential grassroots groups that oppose Camden’s Democratic Party machine point out that the family maintains close ties with party leader George Norcross.

Balzano’s father served for decades as the executive director of the South Jersey Port Corporation, a quasi-state agency that operates shipping terminals in seven Delaware River counties.

In 2015, EMR received a $252 million tax break from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency to promote a new recycling facility in the Camden port district, promising to create 285 new jobs in return. The state reduced the tax award by $132 million in 2022, part of $350 million in award reductions to 82 firms that failed to meet employment pledges.

The tax award to EMR had been one of the largest in New Jersey history.

“EMR USA could have established its corporate headquarters in one of the cities across the country where we have major facilities,” Balzano wrote in 2019, in a newspaper op-ed defending the tax break program. “But my love for Camden and deep ties to the community made locating our American headquarters here my top priority.”

Assemblyman William Moen Jr. issued a statement on Monday after Platkin announced the lawsuit.

“Last year, an industrial fire at a scrap metal facility in Camden City led to the evacuation of approximately 100 residents, including senior citizens, and resulted in toxic smoke filling the air for days,” Moen said. “The root causes were preventable and highlight the health and safety anxieties New Jerseyans who live near scrap metal facilities can face.”

Moen said he has been working with environmental and community stakeholders to craft meaningful legislation to prevent such further incidents. He said he has sponsored bills that would establish safety measures for scrap metal businesses and requirements for the receipt and purchase of scrap metals containing lithium-ion and propulsion batteries.

“As we move into the new legislative session, I will continue to work with my colleagues to minimize the risks scrap metal facilities can pose to communities throughout the state,” Moen said.

Moen said he can’t comment on the announcement by the New Jersey Attorney General and the Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner on the filing of the public-nuisance lawsuit. He said he was “pleased with the progress we have made and will continue to fight for the residents of New Jersey.”

 Courtesy: www.jerseyvindicator.org