Hazardous pesticides — and sensitive data from customers who trusted a trio of pest control companies, including Orkin — allegedly wound up in the regular trash.
Now the three companies that operate in California are paying millions following an investigation that included some dumpster diving.
The $3.15-million settlement was announced Wednesday. Clark Pest Control of Stockton, Crane Pest Control and Orkin Services quickly settled with Ventura, Orange and Riverside counties and nine other California counties over allegations made against the trio in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
The businesses were alleged to have violated a variety of state laws by improperly handling, storing and ultimately disposing of pesticides and hazardous waste in normal and ill-equipped trash bins and landfills, rather than at secure facilities.
They also were alleged to have dumped customer records containing highly sensitive information.
Rodent bait was among the hazardous pesticides that investigators found had been improperly dumped by pest control companies.
(Ventura County district attorney’s office)
“This case reflects the effective coordination among District Attorneys’ Offices statewide to protect our environment and ensure companies follow the law,” Ventura County Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko said in a statement.
Neither the Orange County nor Riverside County district attorney’s offices responded to a request for comment.
The district attorneys for Contra Costa and San Mateo counties began an investigation into the pest control providers in 2021. From March 2021 to February 2022, investigation teams conducted undercover inspections of 40 dumpsters at 22 Clark and Orkin facilities.
The pest control companies, combined, operated 88 facilities statewide, with Southern California locales including Anaheim, City of Commerce, Costa Mesa, Covina, Lancaster, Long Beach, Riverside and Ventura, according to court documents.
“Ventura County was one of the counties where unannounced audits occurred, and those findings reinforced the need for stronger compliance,” Nasarenko said.
The inspections uncovered thousands of unlawfully disposed items, including pesticide containers with liquids, foams, baits, pellets and aerosol sprays. Those liquids included insecticides, and some of the baits included rodenticide blocks, according to the lawsuit.
The companies were accused of not just dumping hazardous waste into transfer stations, landfills and bins, but the district attorneys also alleged that employees often failed to separate or determine if waste was hazardous to begin with.
The defendants failed to maintain a program for lawful storage on-site, leading in some cases to hazardous waste leaking while in containers, according to court documents.
As for customers’ personal information, printed services orders, contracts, invoices and route reports that included highly sensitive information were dumped into the regular trash, the lawsuit said.
Under California privacy laws, the materials should have been shredded or rendered unreadable.
“The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is dedicated to ensuring companies are held accountable for conduct that endangers the environment and our citizens,” Contra Costa Dist. Atty. Diana Becton said in a statement.
The pest control companies will pay $3.15 million in damages, which includes $2 million in civil penalties; the rest will go toward environmental compliance and projects and investigative costs.
Nasarenko said Ventura County was expecting to receive $125,000 in penalties and $26,880 in additional costs.
Contra Costa County Superior Court also mandated a third-party auditor to inspect at least 10% of the companies’ dumpsters over the next five years, proper training for employees, and a minimum of 2,000 annual hours of environmental compliance reviews and oversight.