Crystal Clean, Inc. penalized $1 million for hazardous waste management violations

The Washington Department of Ecology has issued $1.04 million in penalties to Crystal Clean, Inc., a national waste management service with a Lakewood location.

An April 2025 inspection and follow-up investigation revealed that, over a two-year period, Crystal Clean failed to properly store and deliver hazardous waste to appropriate destinations and altered customer shipping documentation.

The company violated hazardous waste regulations in their handling of used oil, flammable paints, solvents, aerosol paints, brake cleaner, oily water mixtures, state regulated toxic waste, and corrosive materials.

Businesses and organizations often use waste service providers to transport their hazardous waste to a facility permitted to accept and dispose of that waste. State and federal requirements for hazardous waste handling and disposal are designed to protect human health, prevent environmental pollution, and enable businesses to track their waste shipments.

The company’s violations include more than 120 inaccurate or misleading documents and multiple shipments of waste delivered to unpermitted facilities. Ecology found shipping documents edited without customers’ knowledge, breaking the “cradle-to-grave" tracking required for transporting hazardous waste from owner to final disposal destination.

"If you ship an important package, you expect the delivery service to know where it is, handle it properly, and deliver it to the right location," said Katrina Lassiter, manager of Ecology’s hazardous waste program. “Hazardous waste isn’t being managed correctly or safely if we don’t know where it’s going for disposal.”

“Customers can be held responsible for missing or improperly disposed of hazardous waste, even many years into the future,” Lassiter said. “Businesses need to know where their hazardous waste is, where it’s going, and that Ecology will hold service providers accountable.”

Brian Recatto, the CEO of Crystal Clean, said, “We intend to appeal the penalty assessment, but we do also intend to fully cooperate with the Department.”

Crystal Clean has 30 days to pay the penalties or appeal to the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.

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