Color Me Mine Apologizes After Calif. Employees Seen Dumping Glaze in Storm Drain: 'We Are Ashamed'

A Santa Monica paint-your-own-pottery studio issued an apology on social media after the incident went viral

A national paint-your-own pottery studio is apologizing after employees at a Santa Monica, California, location were caught dumping pottery glaze into a storm drain in a viral Instagram video.

In the video, two people, identified as unnamed employees of the Color Me Mine ceramics studio, are seen dumping pottery glaze into a drain clearly marked “No dumping, this drain leads to [the] ocean.” One of the people in the video can be heard saying “Who cares? It’ll rain” as they dispose of the liquid.

The Color Me Mine location in Santa Monica did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment but did post an apology on the store's Instagram account, saying that they "take accountability for our employees' actions."

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"These actions were not enforced, condoned, nor recommended by management nor ownership. …[and] we are ashamed that such a huge mistake was caused by one of our own.” 

Color Me Mine — which has over 130 locations — also posted a statement on the brand's main Instagram, confirming that "all Color Me Mine studios are required to conduct business in a manner that respects and preserves the environment."

"This video shows an isolated incident at one of our locally-owned franchise locations and it goes against our standard operating procedures for disposal of our non-toxic, water-based glaze."

Color Me Mine shared in their statement that “the employees in the video have been reprimanded and the staff has gone under training on how to properly dispose of glaze in the future.”

In an interview with the Santa Monica Daily Press, store manager Adelaide Gault said that the employees have been physically threatened online in the wake of the video's release, and that others promised to leave bad reviews of the pottery studio. Gault also said that the liquid being disposed of in the clip was mostly water used to clean a paint receptacle.

"We do have a sink with a trap, but the sink trap has to be cleared out because all the paint builds up, it’s clay, you know. And same with the glaze, it has clay in it," Gault said. "So, it builds up and hardens in our pipes … and water builds up and will come up in the sinks. So she was simply trying to avoid that. And that is nothing that we would never condone for someone just to dump something outside. That’s ridiculous, of course. But does it warrant this kind of abuse? I don't think it does."

Mayor Phil Brock of Santa Monica told CBS Los Angeles that he was “shocked” by the video and “immediately forwarded it to our city administration for action.” In the city of Santa Monica's code of ordinances, it is illegal for anyone to dispose of any liquid or solid waste in a storm drain within the city and violators can be fined for their actions.

The store has also confirmed that they are “working with the city to pay for fines and the clean up process as well.”

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