By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office
Martinez, California – Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and other California district attorneys have reached a $3.15 million settlement with Clark Pest Control of Stockton, Orkin Services of California, and Crane Pest Control.
The settlement resolves allegations that the companies violated state laws by disposing pesticides and hazardous waste into trash bins destined for landfills not authorized to accept such materials. The settlement also resolves the allegations that the companies discarded customer records containing private information.
“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,” said DA Becton.
The investigation, led by Contra Costa and San Mateo County District Attorneys, was initiated in 2021. From March 2021 through February 2022, investigators statewide conducted undercover inspections of 40 dumpsters at 22 separate Clark and Orkin facilities. These inspections uncovered thousands of unlawfully disposed items including pesticide containers with liquids, powders, foams, baits, pellets, and aerosol sprays, plus hazardous batteries, e-waste, hand sanitizers, adhesives, and cleaning solutions. Inspectors also found thousands of privacy law violations: customer records that were not shredded — or rendered unreadable — and dumped in regular trash, including service orders, contracts, invoices, and route reports containing personal information.
After prosecutors notified Clark and Orkin of the violations, the companies cooperated fully and promptly updated their policies and procedures to ensure proper waste management and protect customer privacy in California.
Under the stipulated final judgment, Clark, Orkin, and Crane will pay a total of $3.15 million consisting of:
- $2,017,000 in civil penalties.
- $400,000 in Supplemental Environmental 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 three years.
- Devote a minimum of two thousand 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 Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton and San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe in this lawsuit are the District Attorneys of Alameda, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Ventura counties.
Case No. C25-03346 | The People of the State of California v. Clark Pest Control of Stockton, Inc., a California corporation, Crane Pest Control, a California corporation, and Orkin Services of California, Inc., a Delaware corporation
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