The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has referred the case of a Missouri pesticide recycling company to the Missouri attorney general's office for violations of Missouri's Hazardous Waste Management Law.
The DNR referred the case of Greenleaf LLC, which had locations in Neosho and in Pineville, to the attorney general alleging the company improperly handled hazardous waste, putting the public and environment at risk.
"The scope of Greenleaf's carelessness in the handling of extremely harmful chemicals is staggering,” says Mark Templeton, director of the state’s DNR. “It threatened the health and welfare of its employees, the general public and the environment."
Improper pesticide recycling activities at Greenleaf's two facilities resulted in a large volume of hazardous waste created and mismanaged, according to the DNR. Hazardous waste was not in proper, labeled containers and had been spilled in many locations, and employees were routinely exposed to the waste. Properly managed hazardous waste is less likely to threaten human health and the environment.
The Missouri DNR worked in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Agriculture to evaluate Greenleaf's compliance with state and federal laws. The Department of Agriculture also conducted inspections at the facility where it was determined Greenleaf was not in compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
The Department of Natural Resources oversaw the removal and proper disposal of approximately 73,272 pounds of hazardous waste from both of Greenleaf's facilities.
Due to the serious nature of these violations, the department referred this matter directly to the attorney general to seek an appropriate civil penalty for the violations. Pursuant to the Missouri Constitution, civil penalties are paid to the school fund of the county in which the violation occurred.
The department states that it has made several attempts to negotiate a resolution with Greenleaf, but has not received an adequate response.
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