ADVERTISEMENT

Walmart Faces California Suit Alleging Huge Dumps of Toxic Waste

Walmart Illegally Dumped Hazardous Waste, California Says

Walmart Inc. was sued by California for allegedly dumping hazardous waste including toxic cleaning supplies, pesticides and batteries in local landfills.

The complaint against the retail giant for unlawfully disposing waste since 2015 at more than 300 stores was announced Monday by state Attorney General Rob Bonta. 

“We are not talking about a few batteries and a can of insect killer here,” Bonta said at a press conference. “Walmart’s own audits found that the company is illegally disposing of hazardous waste in California at a rate of over more than 1 million items each year.”

Bonta said the discarded products can “seep into the state’s drinking water as toxic pollutants or into the air as dangerous gases.”

Walmart called the lawsuit “unjustified,” saying in a statement that the state is demanding a level of compliance on waste disposal that goes beyond what’s required by law.

“We have met with the state numerous times and walked them through our industry-leading hazardous waste compliance programs in an effort to avoid litigation,” according to the statement.

California’s top attorney joined the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, and 12 California district attorneys on the complaint, filed in Alameda County Superior Court.

Inspections by the state in 2015 showed that Walmart continued to illegally dispose waste after it reached a $25 million settlement with the state in 2010 over waste management, Bonta said.

“From 2015 to 2021, California investigators conducted 58 inspections across 13 counties of trash compactors taken from Walmart stores,” according to a statement from Bonta’s office. “In each and every single case, they found dozens of items classified as hazardous waste, medical waste, and/or customer records with personal information.”

In addition to seeking damages under waste disposal laws, California also accused Walmart of failing to protect confidential customer information in violation of consumer privacy law.

Walmart said it’s been working since 2010 with the court and local prosecutors to build and maintain comprehensive hazardous waste compliance programs.

The company said the court agreed in 2018 “that Walmart had done so close to everything that’s required that nothing more can be required,” but that the attorney general’s office “launched a new investigation with new rules in hopes that Walmart would enter another settlement requiring another substantial financial payment,” according to the company’s statement.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.