Home Depot has been asked to pay a little less than $28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the state of California over the illegal dumping of hazardous waste.
Inspections revealed that the retailer failed to follow state waste laws while disposing of harmful materials including batteries and aerosol cans. The company also allegedly failed to dispose of customer information properly leaving personal details visible to strangers.
Home Depot will have to pay $16 million in civil penalties and an additional $2 million for environmental protection projects. The retailer will also have to spend $6.8 million on stricter environmental compliance.
Remember, Home Depot was asked to pay $5.7 million by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for selling the recalled products.
Environment protection issues are becoming extremely important and companies will have to go the extra mile to make sure they are doing their bit.
Last month, the 3M Company was asked to pay $850 million to settle an environmental issue lawsuit in Minnesota.
Home Depot has also announced a donation of $50 million to train people in the construction field in order to address a shortage in the home building sector. Around 20,000 people including veterans and students are expected to benefit from this effort.
The home improvement chain is making reparation by doing its bit to help with the labor shortage that is plaguing the residential construction industry.