In 2003, Penn Waste sued 84-year-old York resident Clara Palmer for a $600 overdue bill. According to the York Daily Record, “Her Great Depression-era upbringing taught her to waste nothing. She’s learned paper wrappers make good kindling for the wood stove. Some food scraps and other bio-degradable garbage are deposited onto a compost pile that eventually nourishes her flower beds. Almost everything else can be recycled.” Penn Waste demanded money for services she didn’t use, and ultimately took Palmer to court.

In 2009, Penn Waste was sued by a vacant property owner in York County. Penn Waste repeatedly attempted to collect payment from the property owner despite the fact their services was never requested nor received. As a result of the company’s use of a collection agency, the property owner’s credit report was damaged and was prevented access to multiple loans.

Penn Waste sued customers for as little as one late payment. The number of Penn Waste lawsuits against customers stands at 6,979 individuals from January 2012 to May 2018 alone, filing over 10,000 total lawsuits. These include customers throughout Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York Counties.

Since Penn Waste origin, they have paid thousands in fines for operating outside the boundaries of acceptable environmental practices, putting Pennsylvania communities and residents at risk.

Penn Waste paid for a plane ride for Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mike Turzai to fly from Western Pennsylvania to Harrisburg. This was disclosed as a nearly $2,700 gift on an annual statement of financial interest for Turzai. In addition, Penn Waste has also paid for a country club membership for Scott Wagner. Despite court documents saying his membership would be used strictly for business purposes, Wagner has responded to an incident that led to a criminal investigation at the country club from his political campaign’s website.

Penn Waste President Scott Wagner has sponsored legislation that would move trash burning to a Tier 1 energy source in Pennsylvania. If successful, Wagner would forge a more profitable market for Penn Waste. In addition, one his political campaign funders, Corvana Energy, would benefit from this legislation. They operate five out of the six plants equipped for converting trash burning to energy. Penn Waste operates in five out of the six counties with these plants