Trader Joe's To Spend An Estimated $2 Million To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Not cool, Trader Joe's.

As a result of allegations by government officials that the specialty grocery store violated the Clean Air Act, Trader Joe's has reached an expensive settlement with the EPA.

The EPA details, "Under the settlement, Trader Joe's will spend an estimated $2 million over the next three years to reduce coolant leaks from refrigerators and other equipment and improve company-wide compliance. The company will also pay a $500,000 civil penalty."

It was alleged that Trader Joe's did not promptly repair leaky refrigerators and lacked sufficient servicing and compliance records, therefore stores were emitting R-22, "a potent greenhouse gas with 1,800 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide."

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said, "The company-wide upgrades Trader Joe's will make are not only good for the environment, they set a high bar for the grocery industry for detecting and fixing coolant leaks."

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