District Attorney Reaches $3,150,000 Settlement with Pest Control Service Companies Over Pesticide, Hazardous Waste and Customer Privacy Law Violations

 

SALINAS, California - Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni, along with 12 other

California District Attorneys on November 19 announced a $3.15 million settlement against Clark Pest Control of

Stockton (“Clark”), Orkin Services of California (“Orkin”), and Crane Pest Control (“Crane”) to resolve

allegations that the companies violated state laws governing pesticide, hazardous waste, and customer

records privacy laws, by unlawfully disposing of pesticides and hazardous wastes into company waste

bins destined for municipal landfills not authorized to accept these wastes. The lawsuit also resolves

allegations that the companies failed to shred customer records containing confidential information

before disposing of those items into the trash.

Clark, Orkin and Crane are residential and commercial pest control service companies owned by

Georgia-based Rollins, Inc., with over 70 facilities in California.

From March 2021 through February 2022, district attorney investigators throughout the state conducted

a series of undercover waste inspections of 40 dumpsters originating at 22 separate Clark and Orkin

facilities. The inspections uncovered thousands of unlawfully disposed of toxic, ignitable, and corrosive

pesticide and hazardous waste items that were destined for transfer stations and landfills not permitted to

receive those wastes. Those items included containers of pesticide liquids, powders, foams, baits, pellets

and aerosol sprays, and hazardous batteries, e-waste, hand sanitizers, caulking, adhesives, and facility

cleaning solutions.

The inspections also revealed the pest control companies had improperly managed and disposed of

thousands of customer records violating California privacy laws designed to protect consumers by

requiring businesses to render personal information in those records unreadable before disposal. Those

records included customer service orders, contracts, invoices and route reports.

When Clark and Orkin were notified by the prosecutors of the unlawful disposals, they fully cooperated

and quickly responded to enhance company policies and procedures designed to eliminate the improper

management and disposal of these prohibited wastes, and to protect confidential customer information in

California.

Under the stipulated final judgment, Clark, Orkin, and Crane will pay a total of $3,150,000, consisting

of:

• $2,017,000 in civil penalties

• $400,000 in supplemental environmental compliance projects

• $333,000 in investigative costs

• $400,000 in credit for supplemental environmental compliance measures

The judgment also requires the companies to comply with a permanent injunction mandating significant

operational reforms for a period of no less than five years, including:

• Retention of a third-party auditor to conduct dumpster audits at a minimum of 10% of its

facilities each year for five years.

• Report the findings of the dumpster audits to the prosecutors.

• Require that all facility employees complete a training program that ensures compliance with

applicable pesticide waste and hazardous waste management and maintain proof of the

training for 3 years.

• Devote a minimum of 2,000 hours per year for each year in which the

judgment remains in effect to enhanced environmental compliance measures, including

compliance reviews of waste accumulation areas, oversight of waste minimization efforts by

company technicians, and oversight of enhanced hazardous waste compliance management.

Joining District Attorney Pacioni in this lawsuit are the District Attorneys of Contra Costa, San Mateo,

Alameda, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura

counties.