Walmart's juice waste went viral when an employee shared a photo spilling the juicy details of their waste practices.
What's happening?
A Reddit post on the r/WalmartEmployees subreddit revealed a shocking case of food waste at a Walmart store, showing dozens of expired orange juice containers dumped down the drain in a refrigerated aisle.
The wasted orange juice was apparently dumped down the drain because the employees were stocking the shelves incorrectly. Instead of placing the newer juice behind the older juice for shoppers, the employees blocked the old juice. As the original poster states, the juices in the back were dated back to November 2023 and expired without being used.
"It really grinds my gears when people don't rotate product," said one commenter.
Why is food waste important?
When food is wasted, all the resources used to grow, harvest, transport, and prepare it are wasted as well. This includes water, land, and energy, which are all important resources that could be used more efficiently. Dumping food waste in landfills also produces methane, a harmful gas that contributes to the overheating of our planet. The Environmental Protection Agency notes that over 85% of harmful gas created by landfilled food waste results from activities before disposal, such as production and transportation.
Additionally, food waste is an important social issue. About one in seven Americans lives in a food-insecure household, which means they don't have fully dependable access to affordable and nutritious food. If companies were to adopt better food waste practices, they could help make sure that edible food reaches those in need instead of ending up in landfills.
Is Walmart doing anything about this?
Walmart has been taking steps to make its business practices more sustainable, including tackling food waste. Walmart has participated in the Consumer Goods Forum's #TooGoodToWaste campaign, aimed at "engaging consumers with inspirational messaging, raising awareness of the food loss and waste problem, and providing tips and advice on ways to reduce household food waste."
According to Walmart's website, it is also trying to improve its ordering systems to better predict how much food stores need, helping prevent excess inventory from the start. When food can't be sold but is still safe to eat, Walmart has extensive donation programs, providing over 665 million pounds of food to food banks and charities in the U.S. in its 2023 fiscal year.
What's being done about food waste more broadly?
Many grocery stores across the country are becoming more mindful about their food waste practices. In Arkansas, when a severe storm knocked out the power at a Kroger store, the Arkansas Foodbank stepped in to recover over 76,000 pounds of perishable food and distribute 60,000 meals to residents who had also lost power.
Additionally, Trader Joe's has shown great initiative in managing food waste during similar situations. When faced with one power outage, instead of letting the food spoil, Trader Joe's opted to give away all the frozen and refrigerated items that were still good to customers in the store.
As more stores become more mindful of their food waste, the hope is that they will adopt better practices that prevent more goods from going down the drain.
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