Chipotle employee sparks debate with photo taken during closing shift: 'For all they tout about sustainability'

While Chipotle is well known for its commitment to environmentally responsible business practices, one frustrated worker revealed that the company has room for improvement. 

What's happening?

During one of their closing shifts, a Chipotle employee took photos of a trash bag full of unsold chips headed for the dumpster. "The chip waste at my chipotle," they wrote above the photos in the post in the r/Chipotle subreddit.

"If we have chips and you come in closer to close ask for them you'll more than likely get them for free," they said.

While that would certainly help reduce the restaurant's food waste, it's unlikely that enough customers would claim free chips to prevent them all from getting tossed. 

"Surprised that Chipotle doesn't have a slop bucket; a trash used only for food waste and gets sold to local farms. For all they tout about sustainability and organic ingredients you'd think they'd keep that going with their waste," another user said. 

"That definitely does not happen chipotle does not practice what they preach at all," the original poster responded.

Why does it matter if restaurants throw out unsold food?

Forty-four million people in the United States face food insecurity, yet 92 billion pounds of food goes to waste each year, according to Feeding America. If the food is deemed safe to eat, donating it or giving it away would ensure fewer people go hungry. Plus, restaurants can get a tax deduction for donating the food to nonprofits or other charities. 

When restaurants and corporations toss unsold food instead, it squanders the water, energy, land, and labor that went into growing, producing, and transporting the food. Food waste is responsible for 8% of global carbon pollution, which warms the planet and makes extreme weather more likely. 

Also, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that food waste in landfills produces 58% of methane pollution, another powerful heat-trapping gas, in garbage dumps. 

In Chipotle's case, one instance of throwing out chips doesn't seem like a big deal, but if it happens every day, the waste can add up quickly.

Is Chipotle doing anything about this?

According to Chipotle's 2023 Sustainability Report, the company donated over 323,000 pounds of food to local community partners and set up composting at 265 of its restaurants to minimize waste. While these efforts kept 399 million pounds of food scraps out of landfills, Chipotle aims to divert 5% more waste by 2025. 

It's unclear if the particular store where the OP works has specific policies about what to do with leftover chips. However, the employee seemed fairly confident that customers could just ask for the chips right before closing. 

What's being done about food waste more broadly?

Some grocery chains, such as Kroger and Trader Joe's, have donated or given away thousands of pounds of food that would've gone to waste because of a power outage.

Apps like Too Good To Go also help prevent food waste by selling discounted groceries, pastries, and meals from restaurants and grocery stores, allowing customers to save money and restaurants to recoup some of their losses.

Consumers can make a difference at home by composting food scraps, making a list before grocery shopping, and even getting creative with leftovers.

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