Sherwin-Williams Subsidiary Fined $306K for Years of Hazardous Waste Violations | Engineered Polymer Solutions

For at least three years, a California resin manufacturing facility owned by The Sherwin-Williams Company shipped waste to ordinary landfills that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) later determined should have been classified as hazardous. I will explain shortly why this is so dangerous to the environment.

In at least 36 separate instances between 2018 and 2021, waste from the company’s Tank T-20 was disposed of in non-hazardous solid waste landfills after the company failed to accurately identify it as containing ignitable and solvent-based hazardous materials.

This pattern of mismanagement was one of six counts of systemic failure detailed in a September 2025 consent agreement between the EPA and the subsidiary, Engineered Polymer Solutions.

Anatomy of a Regulatory Breakdown

An EPA compliance inspection in May 2021 uncovered a series of fundamental violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal law governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste. The subsequent investigation alleged a multi-year breakdown in the facility’s safety and environmental protocols.

• Improper Waste Classification: This evil corporation failed to make accurate hazardous waste determinations for multiple waste streams. On at least 36 occasions, waste from one tank was shipped as non-RCRA hazardous waste when it allegedly contained ignitable materials and spent solvents. On seven other occasions, a “Butanol Solution” was shipped with an incomplete hazardous waste profile.
• Uncontrolled Air Emissions: The EPA states the facility failed to comply with air emission standards designed to prevent the release of pollutants. Inspectors found an open vent pipe on the roof of a hazardous waste tank that lacked a required closure device or pollution control system. The EPA measured volatile organic (VO) concentrations of 10,000 parts per million at the vent pipe– 20 times the 500 ppm limit that would have exempted the tank from stricter controls.
• Failed Containment Systems: The secondary containment system for Tank T-20, which serves as a final barrier to prevent environmental contamination, was found to be critically deficient. According to the EPA, the system lacked a leak detection system and proper drainage design, had inadequate volume to contain a spill, and had visible cracks in its liner.
• Negligent Oversight: The facility failed to perform and document required daily inspections of its hazardous waste tank system for at least 25 days between 2020 and 2021.
• Illegal Land Disposal: By failing to properly classify waste from Tank T-20, this shitbag failed to determine if the waste needed to be treated before being sent to Subtitle D landfills. Facilities not designed for hazardous materials! You can see why this would be an issue….

The Consequences: A System Bypassed

The Environmental Toll

The multiple failures created clear pathways for hazardous materials to contaminate the environment. The regulations violated by the company are specifically designed to prevent the release of hazardous waste into the air and land.

The lack of secondary containment for Tank T-20, complete with cracks in the liner, removed a critical safeguard against leaks and spills. Furthermore, the open vent pipe on the same tank allowed for the uncontrolled release of volatile organic compounds directly into the atmosphere. Sending this improperly identified waste to standard landfills meant materials requiring specialized treatment were instead placed in facilities ill-equipped to manage them.

The Erosion of Trust

The settlement allows Engineered Polymer Solutions and its parent, Sherwin-Williams, to resolve the federal government’s allegations without ever admitting to them.

The Consent Agreement explicitly states that the respondent “neither admits nor denies specific factual allegations” contained in the document. This legal maneuver allows the corporation to close the case by paying a fine and correcting its procedures, but it sidesteps public accountability for the alleged years-long pattern of violations. The system allows the company to rectify its non-compliance without a public admission of the facts that led to the enforcement action.

A Price Tag on Compliance

The official response was a civil penalty of $306,436. Engineered Polymer Solutions must also complete a series of compliance tasks, including repairing the cracked containment liner and performing proper waste determinations. However, the company is not required to admit fault.

This outcome is symptomatic of a regulatory system where accountability is often negotiable. The penalty, while substantial, is levied against a subsidiary of The Sherwin-Williams Company, a corporation with billions in annual revenue.

The core issue remains: a company can allegedly operate for years in violation of fundamental environmental laws, risking public and environmental health, and ultimately resolve the matter with a financial settlement and a promise to comply, all while denying the documented facts.

Meaningful accountability would require not just a check, but an admission of the failures that put the system at risk in the first place.

I have many other Sherwin-Williams articles on this website: https://evilcorporations.com/sherwin-williams-toxic-scandal-epa-public-health-impact/

There is also this article on Sherwin-Williams but specifically for its destruction @ Cedar Rapids, Iowa: https://evilcorporations.com/sherwin-williams-epa-hazardous-waste-fine/

Please visit this link on the EPA’s website for the consent agreement for this specific case with Engineered Polymer Solutions: https://yosemite.epa.gov/OA/RHC/EPAAdmin.nsf/Filings/ED58B2AE845E74E585258D100017681B/$File/Engineered%20Polymer%20Solutions%20(RCRA-09-2025-0091)%20-%20Filed%20CAFO.pdf