California Attorney Suing Walmart for Illegal Disposal of Hazardous Waste

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a statewide lawsuit against Walmart for the illegal disposal of hazardous waste.

Bonta was joined by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and 12 district attorneys.

The suit alleges that over the past six years, Walmart violated California’s environmental laws and regulations by disposing of hazardous waste products at local landfills that are not equipped or authorized to receive this type of waste. The waste reportedly includes alkaline and lithium batteries, insect killer sprays and other pesticides, aerosol cans, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints, and LED lightbulbs, as well as confidential customer information.

The California Department of Justice estimates the company unlawfully disposes of roughly 159,600 pounds of hazardous waste in California each year.

“Walmart’s own audits found that the company is dumping hazardous waste at local landfills at a rate of more than one million items each year. From there, these products may seep into the state’s drinking water as toxic pollutants or into the air as dangerous gases,” Bonta said in a statement.

In 2010, the California Attorney General’s Office reached a $25 million settlement against Walmart for illegally disposing of hazardous waste. Walmart agreed to as part of the settlement inspections beginning in 2015.

From 2015 to 2021, California investigators conducted 58 inspections across 13 counties of trash compactors taken from Walmart stores. In each case, they reportedly found dozens of items classified as hazardous waste, medical waste, and/or customer records with personal information.

In the lawsuit, Bonta and the district attorneys allege that Walmart violated the Hazardous Waste Control Law, the Medical Waste Management Act, the Customer Personal Information Law, and the Unfair Competition Law.

Topics Lawsuits California Pollution