Solano gets $300K of $3.5M from Walgreens in statewide settlement
A $3.5 million statewide financial settlement with Walgreens for allegations of improperly handling of hazardous wastes includes $300,000 in penalties and costs to Solano County.
Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams made the announcement in a press release issued late Wednesday.
The judgment, entered on Dec. 17, settles allegations that Walgreens unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste in violation of state laws and violated terms of a prior 2012 judgment, she added. The settlement consists of $2.8 million in civil penalties, $300,000 in supplemental environmental projects, and $400,000 in reimbursement of investigative and enforcement costs.
Additionally, the settlement require Walgreens to continue to employ four California-based compliance employees to oversee its hazardous waste compliance programand ensure hazardous wastes and confidential consumer information is properly disposed of at all stores, Abrams pointed out in the prepared statement.
The development comes after an investigation by prosecutors of Walgreens’ conduct between 2013 and 2020, during which time prosecutors from Northern and Southern California counties allege that Walgreen employees improperly disposed of hazardous waste into company trash bins destined for municipal landfills that are not authorized to accept hazardous waste, Abrams noted.
The hazardous waste, she added, included items such as over-the- counter and prescription medication, electronic devices, batteries, aerosol products, cleaning agents, as well as other hazardous items generated through the company’s regular business activities. This settlement also resolves allegations that Walgreens failed to shred or otherwise destroy customer records containing confidential information before disposal.
Walgreens, based in Deerfield, Ill., owns approximately 600 pharmacy and retail facilities in California, five of which are in Solano County: one in Vacaville, at 2010 Alamo Drive, two in Fairfield, and two in Vallejo.
Abrams said that Walgreens, like all retail stores, is required to properly manage hazardous waste that is generated in the normal course of its retail and pharmaceutical business and to maintain such hazardous waste in labeled and segregated containers to make sure that incompatible wastes do not combine and cause dangerous chemical reactions.
The case, filed in Alameda Superior Court, was prosecuted by a multijurisdictional task force, which, besides the Solano County District Attorney’s Office consumer and environmental crimes unit, included the district attorneys in Yolo, Alameda, Monterey, San Joaquin, and Riverside counties, and the City Attorney of Los Angeles. Walgreens cooperated in the case, Abrams noted.
“Environmental protection remains a priority of the Solano County District Attorney’s Office,” she said. “This statewide settlement with Walgreens ensures future compliance with California environmental regulations and continued protection of the health and welfare of the residents of Solano County and all of California.”