Many stores are incredibly wasteful with their merchandise, throwing away huge numbers of products that don't sell. Adaptable dumpster divers sometimes retrieve what's been thrown away since it's often useful items or edible food. One person on Reddit who said they're a Walgreens employee shared an interesting twist on that dynamic when they said they'd be returning after work to get the food they were forced to throw away.
What's happening?
The post appeared in r/WalgreensStores and was titled "dumpster diving."
"I grew up way too poor to watch all this go in the trash, so I'll be spinning back when I clock out," said the original poster, alongside a photo of the products they had their eye on.
The picture shows a stock cart overflowing with food, including pudding cups, Chick-fil-A sauce, coffee, cereal, hot chocolate, salsa, and more.
"This company is so wasteful it makes me sick," wrote another user who also said they are a Walgreens employee.
In a comment, the original poster indicated they'd left the food for someone with greater need than them. "Update: Didn't take anything after my shift, but I told one of the homeless guys that hang out outside of my store that he definitely shouldn't check our dumpster for food," they said. "Also, if he did, he most definitely shouldn't use the red tote next to it to prop the lid up while he jumps inside."
Why is food waste important?
This batch of food may have been salvaged, but across America every day, pound upon pound of safe, edible food goes into landfills when it could feed those in need. At minimum, stores should stock less so there will be less waste. The practice of overstocking and then throwing food away drives up costs to consumers, as stores have to account for the lost stock in the price of the items they do sell.
It's also bad for the environment. The more food gets thrown away, the more land, water, and energy are used to make more, and the more pollution is generated by the industry.
Is Walgreens doing anything about this?
According to the website of Walgreens Boots Alliance — the company that owns Walgreens in the U.S. and Boots in the U.K. — the company's holdings diverted over 729,000 tons of materials to be recycled or reused in 2023, 79% more than in 2019. Some of that was "donated and liquidated" — so at least a small portion went to people in need or those shopping on a budget.
The company did not include data about how much of its stock still ended up in landfills, however.
What can I do about food waste?
You can reduce food waste, save money, and support stores with eco-friendly initiatives by using apps like Too Good To Go. These programs will give you discounts on food that is close to its expiration date, so you can shop on a budget and prevent it from being thrown out.
You can also grow your own food to reduce your support for commercial stores.
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