While it was announced today that Walmart has finally resolved a government investigation into our environmental compliance dating back to 2003, we have already implemented a series of measures to properly manage consumer products that become hazardous waste in a program that, in many respects, goes beyond compliance with environmental laws.
We take environmental compliance seriously and are committed to having a strong and effective compliance program throughout our company. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has acknowledged the steps we’ve taken. These include:
1. Creating nearly 50 dedicated environmental compliance staff, with elevated management authority.
2. Developing and implementing more than 100 environmental compliance standard operating procedures for our stores and clubs.
3. Clearly identifying consumer products sold in stores and clubs that constitute hazardous waste if discarded, and then providing this information to store and club associates through handheld terminals and shelf labels.
4. Implementing a hazardous waste management system so that store and club associates properly dispose of regulated items that become waste at the stores and clubs.
5. Providing enhanced environmental compliance training to associates in stores and clubs across the country.
Additionally, since 2010 we’ve reduced hazardous waste by more than 30 percent. Working with regulators, suppliers and key business units, here are some examples of what we’ve achieved:
- Through extensive collaboration with the EPA and key suppliers, Walmart obtained federal approval to implement a bag patch program for solid pesticide and fertilizer bags that allows Walmart to patch bags with minor damage and sell them when they previously would be managed as waste. Between 2011 and 2012, this program prevented nearly 12 million pounds of bagged lawn and garden products from becoming waste, including a portion of which would otherwise have been managed as hazardous waste.
- In 2011, Walmart worked with key suppliers and implemented a consumer aerosol can recapping program that resulted in a significant reduction of nearly 250,000 cans managed as hazardous waste as compared to 2010. The cans’ plastic caps were susceptible to breaking through shipping and traffic on the sales floor. Because there is no damage to the product itself, Walmart is now able to order replacement caps and return the aerosols to the sales floor instead of disposing them into the waste stream.
- Walmart completed a multi-year project to enhance IT systems that allows it to analyze waste generation trends for consumer products. This enables the company to better identify and track the disposition of products that for a variety of reasons will not be sold in stores. Walmart can now provide real time product specific direction to associates regarding properly managing products, significantly reducing the number of products that become hazardous waste.
As we work to lead in sustainability and set an example as a good corporate citizen, we believe it’s important to take responsibility and reduce our environmental impact. It’s part of who we are as a company and we owe it to our customers, our communities and the environment. We will continue to cooperate and comply with regulators and hold ourselves to the highest standards.
