The image is from the Walmart Store.
The store is Walmart.
The California attorney general and 12 state officials filed a lawsuit against Walmart last week, accusing it of illegally disposing of electronic and hazardous waste.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges in a statement that the company violated state environmental laws with their practices, and that the waste included materials like batteries, insect killer sprays, aerosol cans, and more.
State investigators found classified hazardous and medical waste in trash compactors, as well as customer information that should have been rendered unreadable, during 58 inspections across 13 counties from 2015 to 2021. The California DOJ estimates that Walmart disposes of more than one million items each year.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said that the state filed a lawsuit because they didn't like the way the company walked them through their hazardous waste compliance programs. The state wants a level of compliance from our stores of common house-hold products and other items that goes beyond what is required by law. We will defend this company.
The audits conducted by the California attorney general have shown that the compactor waste contains at most 0.4% of items of potential concern, compared to the statewide average of 3 percent.
Walmart has been at odds with the state before over its waste practices. Walmart reached a $25 million settlement with the California attorney general's office for illegally disposing of hazardous waste.
The court was prepared to relieve Walmart of its obligations, but the attorney general launched a new investigation with new rules in hopes that Walmart would enter another settlement requiring another substantial financial payment.
The company paid $125 million to Missouri in 2012 for a similar incident and pleaded guilty in California to discharging a pollutant into 16 counties.
The director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control in California said that Walmart has failed to comply with California's environmental protection laws.
