14 DAY TRIAL // This past Tuesday, retail giant Walmart admitted to having dumped hazardous waste into sanitation drains and garbage receptacles in both California and Missouri.
The company said that, since its employees did in fact improperly dispose of pesticides, fertilizers and bleach, it would pay the $82 million (€63.54 million) fine that authorities had settled on.
This $82 million fine is the result of Walmart's having been charged with and found guilty of violating the Clean Water Act in California.
The fine also covers the company's violating a federal law having to do with proper pesticides disposal in Missouri, RT says.
By the looks of it, the retail giant had also been found guilty of several other environmental crimes, hence the fact that it must now pay fines amounting to well over $100 million (€77.49 million).
The same source informs us that Walmart illegal hazardous waste dumping activities in California took place between 2003 and 2005.
Improper disposal of said chemical compounds was reported in 16 different counties belonging to this state.
As far as Walmart lawsuit with Missouri goes, it appears that the company was charged with mixing pesticides at one of its facilities in this state and then selling them in a way that went against FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act).
“As one of the largest retailers in the United States, Walmart is responsible not only for the stock on its shelves but also for the significant amount of hazardous materials that result from damaged products returned by customers,” Melinda Haag, US Attorney for the Northern District of California, told the press.
“The crimes in these cases stem from Walmart’s failure to comply with the regulations designed to ensure the proper handling, storage, and disposal of those hazardous materials and waste,” she later added.
Following these lawsuits, Walmart has agreed to better train its employees in terms of dealing with such hazardous substances and disposing of them in a safe manner.
“Walmart has a comprehensive and industry-leading hazardous waste program.”
“The program was built around training, policies and procedures on how to safely handle consumer products that become hazardous waste, and we continue to run the same program in every store and club that was deployed years ago,” reads a statement issued by Phyllis Harris, the current senior vice-president and chief compliance officer of Walmart.