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State Files Lawsuit Against Walmart Alleging Illegal Disposal of Hazardous Waste

Investigators with the state Department of Justice inspected Walmart trash compactors on 58 occasions across 13 counties between 2015 and this year, finding dozens of items classified as hazardous waste, according to Bonta.

Published

3 years ago

December 24, 2021

Oakland Post

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at the press conference. (Harika Maddala/ Bay City News)

By Eli Walsh, Bay City News Foundation

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday that the state has filed a lawsuit against Walmart over allegations that it has improperly disposed of hazardous waste.

The lawsuit alleges that Walmart has disposed of items like aerosol cans, alkaline and lithium batteries, insect killer sprays and confidential customer information in local landfills rather than facilities that are authorized to receive those types of waste.

According to Bonta, Walmart is estimated to have illegally disposed of some 159,600 pounds of hazardous waste each year for the past six years.

“The company’s behavior is unacceptable, and since it won’t clean up its act, we’re taking Walmart to court,” Bonta said Monday during a briefing to announce the lawsuit.

The state has previously cited Walmart for improperly disposing hazardous waste, coming to a $25 million settlement with the company in 2010.

In a statement, Walmart called the lawsuit “unjustified” and argued the company is a “responsible corporate citizen” that complies with local, state and federal environmental protection laws.

“The state is demanding a level of compliance regarding waste disposal from our stores of common house-hold products and other items that goes beyond what is required by law,” Walmart said in its statement. “We intend to defend the company.”

Bonta jointly filed the lawsuit with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the district attorneys of 12 counties, including Alameda, Monterey and Solano counties.

“Violations of California’s hazardous waste laws endanger workers and the integrity of our landfills and groundwater,” Monterey District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni said in a statement. “We are committed to bringing businesses into compliance with these laws to protect public safety.”

A copy of the lawsuit can be found at https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Walmart%20Complaint.pdf.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.