Southern California recycler hit with criminal charges

The attorney for the city of Los Angeles has filed 15 criminal charges against JGR Metal Recycling Inc., a Sun Valley, Calif.-based metals recycling firm, for allegedly failing to properly dispose of hazardous waste on numerous occasions.

The company and its owner Jose Guadalupe Romero were charged with multiple violations of the California Health and Safety Code and the Los Angeles Municipal Code. If convicted, Romero could face up to 14 years in jail and $510,000 in fines.

The charges arose from a joint investigation by the City Attorney’s Environmental Justice Unit, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Health Hazardous Materials Division.

The charges include:

• illegal disposal of cadmium, chromium, lead, zinc and barium;
• failure to properly label and close hazardous waste containers;
• failure to make a hazardous waste determination;
• failure to obtain interim status or a permit from the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control for hazardous waste accumulated at the facility for more than 180 days;
• failure to maintain the facility to minimize the threat to human health and the environment;
• failure to provide logs documenting weekly inspection of the facility;
• failure to provide personnel training;
• failure to properly manage used oil as a hazardous waste; and
• failure to implement best management practices.