Apple Agrees To Pay $450,000 To Settle Hazardous Waste Violations

A settlement agreement between the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and Apple Inc. (AAPL) was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court by the California Attorney General’s Office on behalf of DTSC.

Apple has agreed to pay $450,000 to DTSC and to increase facility inspections to settle allegations of hazardous waste violations at facilities in Silicon Valley. The settlement stems from violations that DTSC found during a June 13, 2013 inspection of an Apple electronic waste shredding facility in Sunnyvale and a subsequent review of records.

DTSC discovered that Apple had opened, operated and then closed an electronic waste shredding facility from 2011 to 2012 in Cupertino without DTSC’s knowledge and without complying with universal waste regulations, including the mismanagement of metal dust from shredder operations.

As part of the settlement, Apple has agreed to maintain a closure plan and financial insurance for the facility, conduct weekly inspections of areas where hazardous waste is generated and stored, and will ensure that electronic waste, including shredded electronic waste, is properly labeled and not put into containers with dust derived from its shredding operations.