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Los Angeles Times
05-08-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
UPS to pay nearly $2 million to settle lawsuit over hazardous waste sent to local landfills
United Parcel Service Inc. and its affiliates will pay $1.7 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the district attorneys for 45 California counties, alleging the shipping giant sent improperly labeled hazardous waste to area landfills, the Riverside County district attorney's office announced Monday. The lawsuit, filed in San Joaquin County Superior Court on July 23, came after a years-long investigation into 140 UPS locations in California, according to a statement from the office. The matter was investigated by the district attorney's offices in Riverside, Yolo, San Joaquin and San Bernadino counties, among others. The suit alleged that UPS irresponsibly disposed of hazardous and medical waste in 'regular trashbins,' which contained corrosive, ignitable and toxic materials. The trash was then sent to landfills not meant to receive it, officials said. It was unclear how the waste mentioned in the lawsuit was produced, or where it came from. UPS is a multinational delivery company that operates trucks, airplanes and trains, which can all produce waste through standard shipping practices. UPS did not specify how much waste the company produced in its 2024 Global Reporting Initiative sustainability report. The Riverside County district attorney's office said UPS was cooperative and quick to improve upon the practices discussed in the suit. UPS said that, in advance of the settlement, it implemented new waste management systems and training programs that teach employees how to deal with hazardous waste at all California facilities. 'The safety of our employees and communities, and care for our environment, are the highest priorities at UPS,' the shipping company said in a statement to The Times. 'We immediately investigated and took corrective actions to address the allegations made by the counties. UPS fully cooperated with the counties' investigation, including conducting audits of its waste handling practices under the oversight of the DA's.' UPS will pay $1.4 million in civil penalties, $140,000 in cost reimbursement and $205,000 that will go toward supplemental environmental projects, officials said. 'UPS, like all California businesses, is required to properly dispose of hazardous waste and medical waste in labeled and segregated containers to ensure that incompatible waste does not mix and cause dangerous chemical reactions or harm to the environment,' the statement said.
Calgary Herald
28-04-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
UPS in talks with startup Figure AI to deploy humanoid robots
Article content United Parcel Service Inc. is in talks with robotics startup Figure AI Inc. to use humanoid robots for some tasks in the logistics giant's network, according to people familiar with the matter. Article content Article content UPS and Figure began having discussions about a partnership last year and have continued talks in recent months, said the people, who asked not be identified as the details are private. Article content Article content The exact functions that Figure's humanoids would handle for UPS remain unclear. The startup hinted at a tie-up with a logistics firm in February, posting a 90-second video on X that showed its sleek, 5-foot-6-inch robot standing beside a conveyor belt, picking and sorting small parcels. Article content Article content A growing number of startups and Big Tech firms are seizing on recent advances in artificial intelligence technology to develop robots that look and move more like people. Figure has emerged as one of the most prominent startups in this group. The company has held talks with investors to raise US$1.5 billion at a valuation of US$39.5 billion, Bloomberg reported in February. More recently, some have questioned whether Figure may have exaggerated the extent of its work with customer BMW AG. Article content
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Postmaster General Eyes Exit After Turbulent Five Years
(Bloomberg) -- Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asked the board overseeing the US Postal Service to begin the succession process, paving the way for his departure after a turbulent run of almost five years leading the agency. Why Barcelona Bought the Building That Symbolizes Its Housing Crisis Por qué Barcelona compró el edificio que simboliza su crisis inmobiliaria A Filmmaker's Surreal Journey Into His Own Private Winnipeg Trump Child Refugee Agency Shares Data With Immigration Enforcers NYC Restaurants Are Still Waiting for Their Outdoor Dining Plans to Be Approved No specific timing was given for DeJoy's exit in an announcement Tuesday. DeJoy was appointed to the role in 2020, late in President Donald Trump's first administration and the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. He was caught in controversy from the outset amid concerns about whether service reductions would impact vote-by-mail efforts in that year's presidential election. He remained in the role through President Joe Biden's administration, working to improve the agency's shaky financial performance. Between 2007 and 2023, the postal service lost $98 billion. In 2024, it lost another $9.5 billion. Less than a year into his tenure, DeJoy, who spent his career in private sector logistics, launched a sweeping 10-year plan to modernize the agency that involves overhauling the 250-year-old postal network to emulate those of United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. 'Postmaster General is a demanding role made more difficult by the devastating condition I found the Postal Service in when I arrived and the almost unceasing resistance to change,' DeJoy said in a letter addressed to board members dated Monday. 'I have fought against this, and as a result I believe that I can fairly say that my tenure has been one of high expectations and vigorous action.' Trump's return to the White House brings uncertainty to the future of the postal service. In December the then-president-elect said in a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort that his team was 'looking' at the idea of privatizing the agency. Under DeJoy, the postal service began rolling out electric postal trucks, with plans to acquire at least 66,000 battery electric vehicles. In December it was reported that the Trump transition team might look to unwind the contracts. Since taking office, Trump's administration has targeted subsidies for electric vehicles. (Updates with additional context throughout.) The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory The Unicorn Boom Is Over, and Startups Are Getting Desperate Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? The Startup That Stepped In When the Baby Formula Supply Chain Broke Before DeepSeek Blew Up, Chatbot Arena Announced Its Arrival ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
