Sanitation Salvage immediately surrenders operations

After an employee fatally ran over two people on the job, Sanitation Salvage of New York City has announced it is surrendering its license and ceasing operations, reports the New York Daily News. ProPublica reports that it was one of the largest waste management companies in the city.

The company’s license was suspended for a month at the end of August when officials discovered that an employee allegedly ran over and killed two people on his route, including a co-worker, and then lied about it. The first incident occurred in 2016, and the second on April 27 of this year. The employee has not yet been charged criminally in either death, but he has been barred from driving a trash truck in the city, Daily News reports.

In a letter acquired by Daily News, lawyers for Sanitation Salvage said say, “BIC’s [New York City Business Integrity Commission’s] unlawful and ill-advised decision to suspend Sanitation Salvage’s license without any prior notice or opportunity to be heard has doomed the company as a viable going concern.” The BIC suspended Sanitation Salvage’s license Aug. 24 and restored it a month later, but the city demanded the company hire an independent monitor to watch the company. The lawyers continue in the letter to say that Sanitation Salvage lost critical customers during its suspension, and auditor expenses forced the company to shut its doors.

Daily News reports that during the company’s suspension, it had a more than $1 million contract with the city’s Housing Authority to pick up bulk refuse at several housing complexes in the Bronx, but the Housing Authority’s spokesperson told the outlet it was moving to cancel the contract.

The company provided a variety of waste removal services, including dumpster rental, recycling solutions, garbage and medical waste removal and commercial services. It was in operation for more than 35 years and serviced customers in New York City, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Westchester county.