STATE OF TEXAS SUES DARLING INGREDIENTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stop The Stink Bastrop
www.stopthestinkbastrop.com
February 9, 2026
State of Texas Sues Darling Ingredients After 1,400+ Resident Complaints Confirmed Toxic Pollution in Bastrop
BASTROP, TEXAS — The State of Texas has filed a lawsuit against Darling Ingredients, Inc., seeking a temporary and permanent injunction to halt the "serious and long-lasting odor nuisances" emanating from their Bastrop rendering plant. The petition, filed February 6, 2026, in Travis County District Court, confirms what residents have been saying for years: the facility is operating in violation of the law and posing a threat to public health.
The lawsuit (Cause No. D-1-GN-26-000752) follows an exhaustive investigation by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), triggered by over 1,440 complaints filed by local residents since May 2024.
According to the State’s filing, investigators documented egregious operational failures at the plant, including:
Illegal Gas Emissions: Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) levels were recorded as high as 449 parts per billion (ppb)—more than 5.6 times the legal safety limit for residential areas.
Systematic Negligence: The lawsuit cites over 1,000 separate violations of record-keeping rules, including 787 instances where the facility failed to even record when raw animal waste entered their cookers.
Broken Equipment: Investigators found that pollution control scrubbers were often failing or not maintaining the proper chemical balance to neutralize odors.
"For years, Darling Ingredients Bastrop has failed to meaningfully curb their illegal pollution that negatively impacts the daily lives and health of county residents. Today we can celebrate that our voices have been heard and that the State of Texas is taking our concerns seriously. It should be reiterated that this lawsuit would not have happened without the organization, concerns and voices of Bastrop County residents.” - Stop the Stink Bastrop
A Call for Community Restitution
While Stop the Stink Bastrop applauds the Attorney General for taking action, the group is calling on the State to ensure any financial penalties remain in the community via a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) so that the people who live with this pollution receive the remedy.
The State is seeking a court order requiring Darling to process all incoming raw materials within 12 hours, install new high-sensitivity air monitors, and hire an independent third-party engineer to audit the entire facility.
About Stop the Stink Bastrop:
Stop the Stink Bastrop is a grassroots coalition of residents, business owners, and local elected officials dedicated to ending the illegal and toxic emissions from the Darling Ingredients Bastrop rendering plant. Through advocacy, data collection, and community organizing, we fight for the right to breathe clean air.
Darling Ingredients Bastrop Rendering Plant
Read the Attorney General’s press release and view the full lawsuit here.