Big Lots Inc., Columbus, Ohio, is set to pay a $3.5 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging the company of mishandling hazardous waste, a report by SFGate says. The company was sued by 35 Alameda County district attorneys and two city attorneys in California.
The company allegedly disposed of hazardous waste illegally at 206 stores in California and at its Rancho Cucamonga distribution center, the report says. Employees are accused of placing corrosive and ignitable liquids, batteries, electronic devices and other e-scrap in receptacles sent to landfills instead of taking it to authorized disposal facilities, a requirement of California law.
According to the report, the Alameda County district attorney’s office said the company has been cooperative in the lawsuit and has changed its disposal practices. The company will pay $2 million in civil penalties, $336,250 to reimburse costs of the investigation, $350,000 to fund environmental projects and $803,750 to fund hazardous waste minimization projects.
Big Lots is one of a number of larger retailers that had to settle waste disposal suits in California. Safeway, Walmart and Target have also paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits in recent years, the report says.
The company allegedly disposed of hazardous waste illegally at 206 stores in California and at its Rancho Cucamonga distribution center, the report says. Employees are accused of placing corrosive and ignitable liquids, batteries, electronic devices and other e-scrap in receptacles sent to landfills instead of taking it to authorized disposal facilities, a requirement of California law.
According to the report, the Alameda County district attorney’s office said the company has been cooperative in the lawsuit and has changed its disposal practices. The company will pay $2 million in civil penalties, $336,250 to reimburse costs of the investigation, $350,000 to fund environmental projects and $803,750 to fund hazardous waste minimization projects.
Big Lots is one of a number of larger retailers that had to settle waste disposal suits in California. Safeway, Walmart and Target have also paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits in recent years, the report says.
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