what a GREAT company
Sale of bird seed in 2005–2008[edit]
On January 27, 2012, Scotts Miracle-Gro agreed to plead guilty in federal court and pay $4.5 million in fines for selling 73 million units of bird seed from November 2005 to March 2008 that was coated with pesticide known to be deadly to birds and fish. Pesticides were added to protect the product from insects during storage, notwithstanding that Storcide II, one of the pesticides used, was clearly marked as extremely toxic to birds. Records show that its own experts warned of the risk in the summer and fall of 2007 and yet Scotts continued to sell the deadly product until March 2008. In 2008, Scotts Miracle-Gro also falsified pesticide registration numbers required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its products.
[5]
On September 7, 2012, in Ohio, a federal court sentenced Scotts to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for 11 criminal violations of the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In a separate agreement with the
Environmental Protection Agency, Scotts agreed to pay more than $6 million in penalties and spend $2 million on environmental projects. According to the Justice Department, both the criminal and civil settlements are the largest under FIFRA to date.
[6]