Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against a recycling company and other affiliates for unauthorized disposal of industrial solid waste after it was discovered that the company was illegally disposing of wind turbine parts in Sweetwater.
Global Fiberglass Solutions of Texas LLC, whose primary place of business is located in Kirkland, Washington, was hired by multiple companies to break down and recycle turbine blades and parts. According to Paxton’s suit, the company failed to properly dispose of the materials and have instead created a stockpile of over 3,000 turbine parts.
“Illegal disposal of wind turbines hurts our land and will never be permitted under my watch,” said Paxton. “Just because the radical left calls something a ‘green industry’ does not give any company a free pass to harm Texas countryside, break our laws, and leave Texans to deal with the negative impacts.”
The company originally came under scrutiny in 2018 after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality received an anonymous complaint. The agency investigated the company’s two locations in Sweetwater.
“The investigation revealed that Global LLC engaged in recycling activities without notifying the TCEQ,” the lawsuit reads. “Investigators also concluded that Global LLC speculatively accumulated wind turbine blades and associated industrial solid waste at the Facilities.”
Investigators also discovered that the company was not meeting the annual 75 percent of materials recycled threshold to be exempt from needing a permit to store solid waste.
TCEQ informed Global LLC that if it could not meet the required threshold, it would need to obtain the permit to store industrial solid waste.
According to the lawsuit, upon TCEQ returning to the facilities in 2021 for a follow up, both were desolate and locked up. The agency reached out to Global LLC’s Director of Plant Development Paul Brush and was informed that the facilities had been closed since 2020.
Brush also confirmed that Global LLC had acquired more turbine parts that were being stored at both facilities.
In 2022, TCEQ entered into an agreed order with Global LLC, which included requirements that no additional solid waste be stored without proper permits, that those permits be secured within a year’s time, and written proof of compliance be submitted.
Investigators followed up again in March 2025. They discovered that although both facilities were still abandoned, additional waste had accumulated since the agency’s last visit at one of the locations. This was confirmed after shipping lists were obtained from the trucking company that delivered the additional turbine parts.
Neither facility had acquired the necessary permitting to store solid waste in accordance with the 2022 agreed order.
Paxton is requesting a temporary and permanent injunction against the defendants. The injunction would prohibit further industrial solid waste from being accepted onto the facilities, require the removal of all the unauthorized solid industrial waste in 180 days from the effective date, and demand proof of compliance.
