Walmart store.

The district attorneys of Fresno and Tulare counties are part of a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta Monday over allegations of illegal disposal of hazardous waste.

The lawsuit alleges Walmart violated state environmental law and regulation by disposing of hazardous waste products at local landfills not equipped or authorized to receive such waste. The waste 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, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney General Bonta said Walmart’s own audits found it 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. “When one person throws out a battery or half-empty hairspray bottle, we may think that it’s no big deal. But when we’re talking about tens of thousands of batteries, cleaning supplies, and other hazardous waste, the impact to our environment and our communities can be huge. This lawsuit should serve as a warning to the state’s worst offenders. We will hold you accountable. As the People’s Attorney, taking on corporate polluters and protecting public health will always be among my top priorities.”

In 2010, the California Attorney General’s Office reached a $25 million settlement against Walmart for illegally disposing of hazardous waste. Despite the injunctive terms Walmart agreed to as part of the settlement, inspections beginning in 2015 found that Walmart was continuing to conduct operations in California in violation of state laws.

From 2015 to 2021, California investigators conducted 58 inspections across 13 counties of trash compactors taken from Walmart stores. In each and every single case, they found dozens of items classified as hazardous waste, medical waste, and/or customer records with personal information. Yet instead of trying to come into compliance with the law, Walmart claims that its corporate sustainability achievements and its past criminal and civil penalty payments fulfill its compliance responsibilities, according to Bonta’s office.

“Californians expect and deserve that our laws will be enforced consistently and against all who violate them, including big business,” said Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp. “This cooperative enforcement action represents a critical first step in putting offenders on notice and holding them accountable for violations of our environmental protection laws.”

Company spokesman Randy Hargrove said Walmart will fight the “unjustified lawsuit” filed Monday, reported the Associated Press.

“The state is demanding a level of compliance regarding waste disposal from our stores of common household products and other items that goes beyond what is required by law,” Hargrove said. He said a judge was ready to sign off in 2018 on Walmart’s compliance under the 2010 settlement until the attorney general’s office started a new investigation with “new rules” in a bid to force a new settlement.

Attorney General Bonta is joined by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the district attorneys of Alameda, Fresno, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Solano, Tulare, and Yolo counties in filing the lawsuit.