Walmart to
pay $81m as part of the plea after admitting dumping pollutants from stores
into drains in 16 California counties
guardian.co.uk,
Paul Harris in New York, Tuesday, 28 May 2013
 |
| The fine also covers allegations of misdoings in Missouri. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images |
Walmart,
which has endured a year of bad publicity around its US labour relations and
working conditions in its overseas supply chain, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to
dumping hazardous waste in numerous sites in California.
The retail
giant will now pay a fine of $81m to settle misdemeanour charges around the
issue, which also covers allegations of misdoings in Missouri. It brings an end
to an investigation that has lasted nearly a decade.
Walmart
admitted that it had negligently dumped pollutants into sanitation drains
across California, and also tossed waste into local trash bins. Some material
was also improperly taken to product return centers throughout the US without
proper safety documentation.
Officials
at Walmart pointed out that the case covered incidents that had happened
between 2003 and 2005, and insisted it had now changed its procedures. "We
have fixed the problem. We are obviously happy that this is the final
resolution," company spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan told the Associated
Press.
The illegal
dumping covered by this plea took place in 16 Californian counties and was
brought to light after a health department official in San Diego noticed a
Walmart worker pouring bleach down a drain. Walmart, which in 2010 agreed to
pay $27.6m in a similar case, says that its entire national system for dealing
with hazardous waste has been comprehensively overhauled.
The guilty
plea is the latest piece of bad news to put Walmart into the headlines. Earlier
on Tuesday, the union supported Walmart worker organisation Our Walmart began
the latest in a series of strikes aimed at highlighting what it says are low
wages and abusive working conditions. Walmart workers walked out in Florida,
Massachusetts and California with some aiming to stay off work until the firm
holds its annual general meeting at its Arkansas headquarters on June 7.
The
protests follow a series of strikes last year, including ones aimed at
disrupting Black Friday – one of the the busiest shopping days in the US.
It also
comes after Walmart's role in sourcing goods from poorer countries has come
under intense scrutiny. After a series of lethal disasters in the Bangladeshi
garment industry, Walmart and fellow US retailer Gap have been the subject of
condemnation after they resisted joining other large firms in forming a group
aimed at tightening and enforcing safety regulations.
Instead,
Walmart has said it will carry out its own investigations of the factories and
suppliers that it uses in the country.
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