Fashion retailer Macy’s was ordered to pay $1.6 million for environmental violations across its California stores.
An investigation into Macy’s Retail Holdings, LLC revealed the illegal disposal of hazardous waste over the last several years across the company’s 98 California retail locations, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The judgment, which was filed in the Riverside County Superior Court on Friday, involved multiple district attorneys’ offices including Alameda, Fresno, Monterey, Orange, San Diego, San Francisco, Shasta and Yolo counties, as well as the L.A. City Attorney’s Office.
The lawsuit alleged that instead of disposing hazardous items at authorized waste facilities, Macy’s illegally dumped the waste in regular trash bins and at local landfills, which are not permitted to receive those waste products.
Some of the hazardous items discarded include batteries, electronic devices, ignitable liquids, aerosol products, cleaning agents, items listed as containing drug facts, and other flammable, reactive, toxic, and corrosive materials, officials said.
Under the settlement, Macy’s was fined $1,175,000 in civil penalties and $425,000 in cost reimbursement.
Riverside County will receive $157,500 in civil penalties and $36,800 in cost reimbursement. The Riverside County Department of Environmental Health will receive $25,750 in civil penalties and $10,000 in cost reimbursement.
The retailer was cooperative with the judgment and has since implemented policies to properly manage waste disposal in the future.
The company’s hazardous waste will be collected by “state registered haulers to properly transport it to authorized disposal facilities, which is being properly documented.”
“Macy’s, like all retail stores, is required to properly dispose of hazardous waste that is generated in the normal course of its retail business, and to manage such hazardous waste in labeled and segregated containers to ensure that incompatible wastes do not mix and cause dangerous chemical reactions,” said the Riverside County DA’s Office.
In 2017, Macy’s was involved in a similar incident that resulted in a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency over violations of hazardous waste regulations. The retailer paid a $375,000 civil penalty in that case.
Macy’s operates 507 stores across the U.S. and is headquartered in New York City.
