Sanitation Salvage Surrenders License, Goes Out of Business

SEATTLE (Waste 360): Following months of controversy, Sanitation Salvage, based in the Bronx, N.Y., has surrendered its license and gone out of business. According to the New York Daily News, the private hauler sent a letter to the city’s Business Integrity Commission (BIC) yesterday announcing its decision to end its operations.

In the past year, Sanitation Salvage has reportedly killed two New Yorkers in truck crashes. Mouctar Diallo, a 21-year-old immigrant who had been working for Sanitation Salvage for more than a year, was run over in a November 2017 crash. The true nature of his death was covered up, and police were told he was unknown to the company. In April 2018, a second Sanitation Salvage truck operated by the same driver, killed 72-year-old Leon Clarke, a resident of the Bronx’s John Adams Houses, as he was crossing the street with a cane.

These fatal accidents sparked the attention of labor unions, environmentalists and community groups, which expressed their concerns and pushed for the hauler’s license to be suspended. These concerns, along with information on off-the-book employees, fatal accidents, unsafe conditions and more released by nonprofit ProPublica and radio network Voice of America and a further investigation conducted by the BIC, led the BIC to suspend Sanitation Salvage’s license in August.

The BIC’s investigation found a number of crashes at the company and routine violation of basic traffic safety laws. According to the commission, in the past three years, Sanitation Salvage has had 58 crashes, which resulted in two fatalities and 11 injuries. Four of the company’s drivers had at least four crashes each.

The commission also found that a majority of Sanitation Salvage drivers were driving in excess of the 14-hour daily legal limit for commercial truck drivers. A majority were also in violation of the 70-hour weekly limit. The BIC investigation also discovered Sanitation Salvage trucks being driven by workers who lacked proper licenses. Half of the company’s trucks have failed roadside inspections with maintenance violations so severe that the trucks were ordered off the road.

BIC also revealed previously unreported crashes, including a crash from May 7, 2018, when a Sanitation Salvage truck ran a red light and hit a motorcyclist in the Bronx.

At the time of its suspension, Sanitation Salvage was the largest carter in the Bronx and one of the largest in the city. And just days after the suspension, Sanitation Salvage fought back with a lawsuit against New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, arguing that it was not given the chance to defend itself before the BIC suspended its license.

After about a month, the BIC made the decision to lift the suspension on Sanitation Salvage’s license, causing backlash once again from labor unions, environmentalists and community groups.

 Courtesy: https://waste360.com