Home Depot Pays $9.9 Million for Hazwaste Violations
Environmental News Network reports that Home Depot settled its 2004 lawsuit over household hazardous waste by paying almost $10 million in civil penalties, one of the largest settlements in U.S. history of hazardous waste violations.
The case involved a fire at Home Depot’s Marina Del Rey store in May 2004, where a 55 gallon drum exploded and forced a fire evacuation. An investigation found that Home Depot was collecting hazardous waste at several California stores, and using uncertified haulers to transport the waste.
The settlement will be just one aspect of Home Depot’s contribution following the trial.
“In addition to paying $9.9 million, Home Depot will contribute required support for designated environmental training programs and other environmental commitments which benefit the state of California and its citizens.”
Home Depot also agreed to use only California Department of Toxic Substances-certified haulers and Department of Transportation-approved containers for disposing of its hazardous waste offsite.
For more information on hazardous waste and its effects on the environment, visit Earth 911′s pages on Lead.
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isaac
posted on August 23rd, 2007 at 8:22 am
unbelievable. i don’t understand why home depot doesn’t use their #2 retail position as an education platform to their customer base and educate them on proper recycling habits. they could do so much on their website, in their stores on their product labels…you guys should partner with them. i love your site i have used it to clean out my garage and get rid of all the bad stuff on my shelves without hurting the environment. thank you!