Walmart has been fined for illegally dumping 400 tons of medical and hazardous waste in California landfills.
A review by the district attorney’s offices revealed that the waste consisted of “thousands of containers of toxic aerosol and liquid waste, including spray paints, rust removers, bleaches, pesticides, and medical waste, such as over-the-counter medications.”
These hazardous materials were dumped in landfills in 12 counties, including San Diego, Orange and Riverside.
These toxins can leach into drinking water or fill the air with toxins, causing cancers, respiratory conditions and birth defects.
Because of the health risks, California officials said the fines are due to Walmart’s “mismanagement of hazardous waste (that) can lead to fires and injuries.”
The retail giant has long touted its focus on climate, nature and waste, but the incident and other incidents in the past appear to contradict its green claims.
Walmart has not stated why its facilities dumped the waste, but companies have taken this route to avoid the fees and taxes that come with proper disposal.
The settlement comes on the heels of another shocking Walmart scandal that saw the life of a teenage employee end when she was “baked to death” inside one of the store’s industrial ovens on Saturday.
Walmart has been fined $7.5 million for illegally dumping 400 tons of hazardous and medical waste in California landfills between 2016 and 2021.
“Walmart’s illegal disposal of medical and hazardous waste not only violated California law, but, if left unchecked, posed a threat to human health and the environment,” the state’s attorney general said Tuesday. , Rob Bonta.
The ruling resolves a lawsuit filed against Walmart by Attorney General Bonta and 12 county district attorneys in December 2021.
From 2015 to 2021, the state of California conducted 70 inspections of waste that Walmart stores sent to municipal landfills.
The investigation found that the company illegally dumped a variety of hazardous materials and chemicals between 2016 and 2021.
The company owns more than 300 stores in the state of California, 33 in Riverside County alone.
This dumping allegedly violated the Hazardous Waste Control Law, the Medical Waste Management Law and the Unfair Competition Law, Bonta’s office said.
If an Alameda County Superior Court judge approves the settlement, Walmart – which generated $648 billion in revenue this year – will pay $4.3 million in civil penalties and $3.2 million in refunds to the state of California.
The agreement also requires the company to hire an independent auditor to conduct three annual rounds of waste audits at its California facilities over the next four years.
Although Walmart accepted the settlement, it did not admit to any wrongdoing, Los Angeles Times reported.
An investigation found that Walmart had illegally disposed of materials that are hazardous to human and environmental health, including toxic aerosols and over-the-counter medications.
The agreement also states that the company has compliance programs to address state laws regarding the disposal of hazardous waste.
“The fact that the agreement requires Walmart to ‘maintain’ our pre-existing waste compliance program is a testament to the strength of the compliance program we have created,” Walmart said in a statement.
“The agreement itself recognizes that Walmart’s program is extremely effective in keeping supposedly hazardous waste out of public landfills,” the company added.
Walmart did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
It is not the first time that the hypermarket brand has been sanctioned for illegal discharges.
A 2010 settlement required Walmart to pay $27.6 million for hazardous waste disposal in San Diego County.
At that time, the company also agreed to end its illegal waste disposals.
Gursimran Kaur, 19, was tragically killed at the Halifax Walmart where she worked in Nova Scotia on the night of October 19.
Walmart also paid $1.25 million to Missouri in 2012 to settle a similar lawsuit.
And in 2013, the company pleaded guilty to negligently discharging a pollutant into the drains of 16 California counties, agreeing to an $81 million settlement that also included charges in Missouri.
The tragic death of a young Walmart employee has put the hypermarket brand under even more scrutiny this week.
Gursimran Kaur, 19, died tragically at the Halifax hypermarket where she worked in Nova Scotia on the night of October 19.
She was found inside an oven in the baking section of Walmart, where she had worked for two years alongside her mother, who was on shift with her at the time.
Her mother had been frantically searching for her inside the store when, according to a new GoFundMe While raising money for the family, he faced a “leak” coming from the closed oven.
A family spokesperson has since said Gursimran’s relatives are devastated by his tragic death.