Minn. Recycler Agrees to Pay Fine

Bay Side Recycling Corp., Duluth, Minn., agreed to pay a $20,000 penalty as part of an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to resolve alleged violations of hazardous waste, solid waste and stormwater rules. In addition, the company will complete two environmental projects with a total value of $42,000.

Bay Side Recycling shreds and recycles steel and other metals from vehicles and appliances.

In January 2003, an MPCA inspector discovered the facility did not have solid waste or hazardous waste storage permits for the 10,562 cubic yards of shredder fluff accumulated on-site or the appropriate safeguards required for on-site storage. In addition, the company's stormwater permit had not been updated to reflect the volume of stored shredder fluff.

Subsequent analysis indicated about 4,200 cubic yards of the fluff were hazardous waste because it contained over 50 parts per million of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. A small portion of the fluff also exceeded the hazardous waste limits for lead.

In addition to paying a penalty, the company agreed to conduct two supplemental environmental projects costing $42,000. One has already been completed: The company provided equipment and personnel and accepted scrap metal for a burn-barrel exchange program in Duluth last month. The other, expected to occur soon, will provide low-cost appliance recycling to the public for a limited time.