One delivery driver stunned Reddit with a photo of the incredible amount of bread going to waste on his route in a single day.
He shared his post on r/Anticonsumption, a subreddit dedicated to reducing and calling out waste.
"I'm a bread dude and this is the worst part of my job," he said, attaching the photo as an explanation.
In the photo, there are 35 plastic crates stacked on a warehouse floor — each crate appears to be holding as many as a dozen loaves of bread that have passed their sell-by dates. That means, in total, there are hundreds of wasted loaves in the shot.
"I deliver to six stores," the original poster explained in a comment. "I'm told the depot I work for doesn't do anything with the stale bread, just throws it all out."
According to the OP, he's done what he can to reduce waste, but it's not up to him.
"I'm a company bread dude. I do not own my own route," he said. "So what I can do with the product is limited."
🗣️ What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste?
🔘 Saving money 💰
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 Not being a wasteful person 😇
🔘 I don't think about reducing food waste 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
He also mentioned that he donates it to charities when they're present on his route, takes as much as he can to make French toast and stuffing, and has even given some to a friend who used to keep pigs.
Donating older food or selling it at a discount is often an effective way to reduce food waste while feeding those who need it most.
However, this can get complicated for companies since they have to monitor food safety. Sell-by dates don't mean food will immediately go bad at that time, but a company could still be blamed if someone got sick from eating food that was donated past the date.
Still, companies can make the effort to be less wasteful and keep costs low by practicing composting or adjusting their policies to order less food in the first place.
"I can control my order to an extent [but] the company cuts and adds whatever it wants," the OP said.
Commenters hated the waste just as much as he did.
"This makes me sad," said one user.
"Minimizing wastage is an incredibly rare priority for so many types of businesses on this scale," said another commenter.
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