Wal-Mart pleads guilty in hazardous waste cases, to pay $81 million

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. admitted to improperly handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its stores nationwide, pleading guilty Tuesday to several federal criminal and civil counts and agreeing to pay more than $81 million. The accusations against the retail behemoth spanned three criminal cases from the Justice Department and a related civil case brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Wal-Mart said its failings — not training workers to properly deal with and discard hazardous waste, including pesticides, detergents, paints and aerosols, some of which ended up in municipal trash bins or in local sewers — were remedied years ago. Prosecutors also said waste taken back to stores by customers was delivered by the company to product return centers without required safety documentation.