Apple paying US$450,000 to settle hazardous waste fiasco
by The Associated Press
Apple described its conduct as "an oversight in paperwork" that didn't affect its health and safety standards, which the company says are more stringent than the law requires
The Apple store in New York. PHOTO: Apple
The agreement involves a now-closed plant near Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters and another one in nearby Sunnyvale.
California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control alleged Apple opened, ran and then closed the Cupertino plant without regulators’ knowledge. The plant processed about 1.1 million pounds of waste created by devices during a two-year period before closing in 2013, when the operations were moved to Sunnyvale.
Regulators say the plant processed about 803,000 pounds of electronic waste in Sunnyvale before notifying the state about its activities there.
The company described its conduct as “an oversight in paperwork” that didn’t affect its health and safety standards, which the company says are even more stringent than the law requires.
The complaint filed against Apple didn’t include any allegations that anyone or the environment was harmed. But state regulators did accuse of Apple of mishandling fine dust vacuumed up from the Sunnyvale plant in 2013 after some devices were shredded.
Regulators say the “baghouse” dust included hazardous levels of copper, zinc and other particles that were improperly sent to a recycling centre in Roseville, California, located about 140 miles away. The Roseville centre wasn’t authorized to store or treat the hazardous waste before it was sent to Canada, according to regulators.
Settling the case cost the tech giant a relative pittance. The company ended September with nearly $238 billion in cash.
