Walmart

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(Discussion #1) Wal-Mart Fined for Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes

After reading the case study, answer the questions below.

Wal * Mart Supercenter store front.
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Wal-Mart stores recently plead guilty of improperly dumping hazardous waste in California and Missouri. The charges levied against the retail giant included six counts of violating the Clear Water Act in California and one count of violating federal law related to pesticide disposal in Missouri. As a result of the plea the company was fined $82 million. The fines will, in part, be used to fund environmental projects in the communities that have been impacted by the violations with the goal of preventing future harm. The plea brought an end to years of investigations into allegations that Wal-Mart employees were improperly disposing of hazardous waste and trash into sewage systems.

The initial complaint stems from incidents brought to light in 2003. At that time Wal-Mart was accused of dumping products such as bleach and fertilizer into local sewage systems as opposed to handling them as hazardous waste products. Many of these products had been pulled from store shelves because of damaged packaging or had been returned to stores by customers. In Missouri the company had routed these damaged or returned items to a facility where they were processed for resale without proper permits. In California, court documents show that illegal dumping occurred in sixteen different counties between 2003 and 2005.

Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division stated that the company, “put the public and the environment at risk and gained an unfair advantage over other companies,” as a result of these practices (Stephanie Clifford, “Wal-Mart is Fined Over $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes,” New York Times ).

In a statement Wal-Mart noted that it had not been accused of any specific environmental damage as a result of the improper disposal of these products. The company highlighted that after these allegations became known in 2006, it made significant changes to its policies and procedures surrounding hazardous waste. Wal-Mart created a hazardous waste disposal compliance office and designed a program to educate employees on how to properly handle and dispose of waste.

Workers have been armed with scanners that alert them as to whether a damaged product is considered hazardous material. If so employees are now instructed to place the items into a special chemical bag that is labeled with the contents. These bags are then placed in color coded buckets depending on the type of waste, and then transported to an approved treatment center along with documentation. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan says the company is pleased with the program and highlights that employees are now better trained to clean up, transport, and dispose of dangerous products.

Works Cited

· Clifford, Stephanie. “Wal-Mart is Fined $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes.” New York Times: B.3. May 29 2013. (

www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/business/wal-mart-is-fined-82-million-over-mishandling-of-hazardous-wastes.html?_r=0

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· Elias, Paul, and Greg Risling. “Wal-Mart Probe Ends in Guilty Pleas.” The Charleston GazetteMay 29 2013. ProQuest. Web. 12 June 2013 .

Questions to answer – no format or word count requirement

· The narrow view of corporate responsibility states that business has no social responsibilities other than to maximize profits. When it comes to corporate behavior, such as described in the Wal-Mart® case, consider the role that government regulation   and / or legislation should play, if any. Provide an argument that either supports or challenges the government’s role in regulating Wal-Mart’s® handling of hazardous waste. Speculate on a possible challenge that one could make to this argument, and propose a response to that challenge. 

· Companies are being held to higher standards with regard to their business practices and the impact they have on their communities and the environment. From a stakeholder perspective, predict some of the ways in which the environment, community, and company may benefit when a business adopts a policy of corporate social responsibility with regard to the environment. Use the case study to support your summary with examples from Wal-Mart’s® response to accusations of improperly handling hazardous waste materials.