The Washington Department of Ecology fined Seattle Barrel Company $150,000 on Thursday after inspectors found the business failed to properly manage dangerous waste at its facility.
The company, which refurbishes and recycles used steel and plastic drums, did not document whether waste was hazardous, failed to track materials through disposal, and lacked required emergency plans and employee training, according to state officials.
Inspectors discovered the violations during a February 2025 visit to the facility. The company had at least a year of documented failures in handling waste generated from cleaning drums that previously contained petroleum products, solvents, paints, inks, and food-grade fats and oils.
“Ensuring they’re testing and documenting whether their waste is hazardous, training staff on what to do in emergencies, and regularly inspecting their dangerous waste storage are all basic safety principles,” said Katrina Lassiter, manager of Ecology’s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program.
Seattle Barrel Company corrected some violations but did not address others or respond to a legal order issued in August requiring compliance within 30 days, Ecology said.
The penalty marks the latest enforcement action against the business. Ecology previously fined the company in 2014 and issued a legal order in 2017.
In 2023, the company, then operating as Seattle Barrel and Cooperage Company, and its owner Louie Sanft were sentenced in federal court for conspiracy, making false statements, and 33 Clean Water Act violations related to dumping caustic wastewater into the sewer system.
Sanft received 18 months in prison and a $250,000 fine. The company was placed on five years of probation.
