This is a bit of a ding on the “green image” Apple is proud of: the California Environmental Protection Agency says the tech giant has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle claims it improperly dealt with e-waste at facilities in Cupertino and Sunnyvale, according to Reuters.
State regulators said the company opened and operated an electronic waste shredding facility in Cupertino, California, between 2011 and 2012 without informing them. Apple also agreed to increase inspections to settle allegations about facilities in Cupertino and Sunnyvale, the Agency’s Department of Toxic Substances Control said.
“This matter involves an oversight in filing paperwork to close one of our recycling facilities as part of our expansion to a larger site,” Apple spokeswoman Alisha Johnson told Reuters in an emailed statement. “We’ve worked closely with [the Department of Toxic Substance Control] to ensure that going forward we have the proper permits for our current site. As we do with all our facilities, we followed our stringent set of health and safety standards, which go well beyond legal requirements.”
