Illegal Dumping of 800 Tons Electronic Waste in New York Results in Over $200k Fines

For the illegal dumping of 800 tons of electronic garbage, including computer monitors and other waste, in New York in 2016, two recycling companies were served with fines totaling more than $200,000.

Illegal Dumping in New York

Instead of properly disposing of the material, the two corporations collaborated to dump it, according to the state attorney general's office.

A $225,000 fine was imposed on the owner of one of the businesses.

A top official and the other corporation both paid fines totaling $10,000.

According to the attorney general, ALPCO Recycling and Finger Lakes Cleanup and Recycling Consultants were aware that they were disposing of the material unlawfully.

800 Tons of Electronic Waste and Over $200k in Fines

According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, an unnamed third recycling company went out of business in 2015 and left 800 tons of rubbish in the warehouse. It was then renting at the Geneva Enterprise Development Center business park.

Cathode ray tubes, found inside the televisions and monitors that were abandoned, contain lead and are chemically harmful to people.

The owners of the Geneva Development Center hired Finger Lakes Cleanup in 2016 to remove the trash that had been left behind.

Craig Foster, the project manager for the Finger Lakes Cleanup, asked ALPCO in Wayne County to pick up the collection of devices.

Foster consented to deliver the electronic garbage to ALPCO even though he was aware that Alton Plumb, Jr., the company's owner, was not legally permitted to handle it.

The garbage at ALPCO was found by DEC in the 2016 summer. Unknown amounts of it had already been digested and were gone by that point.

ALPCO was compelled by DEC to remove the remaining garbage and dispose of it at a licensed landfill.

Foster entered a guilty plea this week in Wayne County Court to a misdemeanor charge of trading in hazardous trash without a permit.

On the same charge, Finger Lakes Cleanup entered a plea of guilty to a felony.

Each of Foster and the business received a $5,000 fine.

ALPCO previously entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor offense and paid a $1,500 fine.

Plumb had already been ordered to pay $225,000 as part of an earlier DEC cleaning order.

Proper Electronic Disposal in New York

Hazardous elements like lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium are present in some devices, which are often known as e-waste and cannot be disposed of in ordinary trash or recycling.

Computers, computer accessories, TVs, video equipment, mobile electronics, and home electronics are all considered to be e-waste.

There are numerous e-waste disposal solutions available to those who live in cities.

This entails returning them to the seller or manufacturer for proper recycling, donating the items if they are still in working order, scheduling a pickup appointment if located in Staten Island, and enrolling apartment buildings in the ecycleNYC program to receive pickups.

The city also stated that tenants are responsible for properly disposing of their devices and that it is not the duty of the landlord to collect or return goods for recycling or reuse.