The owner of a Pennsylvania recycling company has been charged with 16 crimes, including five felonies, after allegedly illegally dumping 23,455 tons of construction and demolition waste across four Pennsylvania counties.
Lehigh Valley Live reports the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office has accused Michael L. Stine, owner of MS Recycling, with dumping the materials at publicly owned and private property in Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill and Lackawanna counties. State investigators estimated it will cost more than $1.3 million to clean up the sites.
As Waste Dive reports, state officials across the US are increasingly cracking down on illegal dumping. New Jersey lawmakers are working on a bill to close loopholes that allow individuals with organized crime connections to dump illegal waste in the state. Additionally, the owner of South Carolina-based American Waste was recently sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for illegally dumping septic waste.
Last year Global Environmental Services’ electronics recycling R2 certification was suspended following reports that GES operated an illegal dump, using a bulldozer to bury CRTs and other electronic equipment near its facility in Georgetown, Kentucky.
And in 2014 home improvement retailer Lowe’s Home Centers agreed to pay $18.1 million to settle claims that more than 100 of its stores in California illegally dumped hazardous waste in landfills.
